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Spell ^ China 



Archie Bell 

ft 

Author of " The Spell of the Holy Land. 

' ' The Spell of (Sgypt, "etc. 




With eight plates in full colour and many 
duogravures from photographs by 

EM. NEWMAN 



f=1 



BOSTON 

THE PAGE COMPANY 






Copyright, 1917, 
5y The Page Company 



All rights reserved 



First Impression, July, 1917 



^^ 



OCT 10 1917 

©GU473947 



TO 

E. M. NEWMAN 

AND 

CHAS. D' EMERY 

MASTER TRAVEL TALKER AND MASTER CAMERA MAN. 

COMPANIONS OF THIS PLEASANT JAUNT 

INTO OLD CATHAY 



FOEEWORD 

"I like to read books of travel," an old lady 
remarked to me, as she held a copy of ''The 
Spell of the Holy Land" in her hand. "I can 
read them and imagine that I am visiting the 
countries written about. But there is one fault 
that I have to find with all of them; they tell 
you about the trip from New York to Jerusalem, 
Zanzibar or Patagonia, but they never tell how 
much the trip costs. Why, I was thirty years 
old before I knew that it was possible to spend 
the summer in Europe without a small for- 
tune." 

Within the quarter-hour another asked me: 
"Did you find it expensive traveling in China T' 
Half an hour later: ''Does it cost more to 
travel in China than in the United States?" 

Perhaps the old lady was right. The im- 
portant matter of what a trip costs may have 
been omitted in most cases. It may have been 
done purposely. The singer does not wear a 
placard to blazon the fact that she spent five 
thousand dollars having her voice trained. Nor 



viii Foreword 



does the painter say : ' ' It cost me five thousand 
dollars for instruction before I produced that 
canvas." Writers may have considered it as 
unnecessary to enumerate the steamer, railway 
or hotel fares that enabled them to see what they 
described. 

A question in regard to the expense of a trip 
to and through China is pardonable, however, 
because, until recently, it was not undertaken 
by the casual tourist, and the excursion offers so 
many joys for the amount demanded in pay- 
ment the number of travelers from America to 
the Celestial Republic is increasing so rapidly 
and is so easily accomplished that it is advisable 
to pass the good news along. Traveling is not 
expensive in China; no more so than in the 
United States. The average man or woman, 
who is satisfied with a comfortable hotel room 
and who does not demand a suite of rooms as a 
shelter for the night, and the one who keeps his 
requirements in the daytime to about what they 
would be in an American city, will find it possi- 
ble to cover the long itinerary sketched in this 
volume for an amount ranging between fifteen 
hundred and two thousand dollars, granting 
that about five months elapses between sailing 
from an American Pacific port and returning. 

One should not go to China expecting to re- 



Foreword ix 



main less than three months, and the fascinating 
novelty of the Orient might begin to fade after 
a six months ' tour. Between the two extremes 
is the length of time recommended by one who 
believes that a quarter year holiday in this 
ancient land of the pagoda is one of the most 
enjoyable jaunts afield now available to the 
Western tripper. 

Archie Bell. 



CONTENTS 



Foreword vii 

I. A City of Terraces 1 

II. Canton the Incredible 27 

III. The Widows of Ah Cum 49 

IV. The Celestial Eiviera 64 

V. "Paris of the Far East" 83 

VI. City of Heaven by Houseboat 128 

VII. "Son of the Ocean" 176 

VIII. China's Triple Heart . 209 

IX. Burying a President 237 

X. Imperial Purple Metropolis 256 

XI. In Forbidden Palaces 290 

XII. On Royal Bypaths 328 

XIII. An Oriental Berlin 345 

XIV. China's Little Sister 364 

Bibliography 397 

Index 399 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 

A Chinese Street Scene (in full colour) (See page 257) / 

Frontis'piece 

MAP OF CHINA I , 

Hongkong, from the Peak 10 ^ 

Peak Railway, Hongkong 16- 

Li Hung-chang 24-^ 

Boat-dwellees, near Canton 28^ 

Pearl River, Canton 33 . 

An Old Coolie {in full colour) 37 ^ 

Wa-Tap Pagoda, Canton 40- 

Interior of Temple of the five hundred Genu, 

Canton 43^ 

Sedan Chairs 49" 

Waterfront, Macao .65' 

Opium Smoking 72 1 

Street Scene, Shanghai 84. 

The "Mandarin's Tea House" {in full colour) . .91 

Chinaman with Bird-cage 93 

Market-place, Shanghai 96' 

Cha Pm-YUNG 118 

A Manchu Woman 122 

A Chinese Canal {in full colour) 138 

Watching the Canal Boats Pass .... 148 • 

An Ancient Bridge, Hangchow 157 

West Lake, Hangchow 167 

A Garden in Hangchow . 174 > 

A Typical Chinese Village 183 '' 

xiii 



xiv List of Illustrations 

PAGE 

A Chinese Junk 193- 

Hankow 210 

Coolies, Hankow . . . . . . . .214 

The Late Yuan Shih-k'ai 238,- 

Beyond the Walls, Peking 262 / 

Chinese Pbiests at Prayer 266 , 

Lama Temple, Peking 268 

White Jade and Gold Buddha, Peking . . . 272 / 
Arch in Temple of Confucius, Peking . . . 276 

The Temple of Heaven, Peking 280 

Brazier at Altar of Heaven 282 

The Altar of Heaven 284 

The Pavilion, Summer Palace 294 

The Lake, Summer Palace 298 

Marble Boat, Summer Palace 301 

Marble Bridge, Summer Palace 305 

The Kettler Pai-lou 316 

Residence of the Late Yuan Shih-k'ai . . . 325 

Stone Animals at Ming Tombs 332 

Boys at Great Wall . 340 

The Great Wall (in full colour) 344 . 

Street Scene, Tientsin 347 

Yang-ban; Seoul 366 

A Korean Beauty 368 

A General View of Seoul 370 

Korean Farmers 376 

A Typical Korean Gentleman . . . . . 383 

Man in Mourning, Korea 385 

A Gateway in Seoul (in full colour) .... 389 ^ 
The Keikaibo, North Palace 392 '* 



CHINA, SIAM, 

INDO-CHINA AND 

GHOSEN 




THE 
SPELL OF CHINA 



CHAPTER I 

A CITY OF TEEKACES 

.APOLEON BONAPARTE said: ''When 
old China begins to move, she will sur- 
prise the world," and thus proved him- 
self to be a good prophet. China has not only 
begun to move, pausing the world to look on in 
amazement, but she has continued to move, and 
the world is more surprised than it was when 
the tremendous and ancient dragon raised her- 
self for the first real attempt to rouse from a 
sleep that endured for so many centuries that 
she was blinded by the light of day, befogged 
and barely knew which way to turn. Perhaps 
her first impression was that it might have been 
better to remain asleep. The comatose condi- 
tion had not been without its pleasant sensa- 
tions. Like the dreams of one of her own 
opium-smokers, the rainbow centuries had 
1 



The Spell of China 



passed and left her in tlie mauve vapor of un- 
reality. She declined to admit the real, even 
when her eyes were open. Sleep and dreams 
were preferable, and although she had been 
awakened several times within a thousand years 
by the abominable clatter of young nations, their 
encroachments, claims and demands, she merely 
blinked her eyes fretfully and resumed her slum- 
ber, apparently leaving strict orders that she 
was not to be ''called" until the beginning of the 
Twentieth Century, a. d., as the children among 
the nations reckon time. And then, when the 
time arrived, she awakened without a call from 
the outside. Old China awakened from within. 
She heard her own voice calling her to be up 
and stirring. And in this, probably Napoleon 
Bonaparte would be surprised. It was more 
than even a good prophet would have ventured. 
China is moving, and, in some respects, she is 
causing greater surprise by the celerity of her 
movements than by the fact that she decided to 
move at all. 

Like a peevish grandparent, she is obliged 
to admit that she has been asleep, but she ex- 
cuses herself by explaining that, in her life, a 
few centuries were nothing inore than a brief 
spell of drowsiness. She is awake now, as she 
was awake in those days when she felt that she 



A City of Terraces 



could go out and conquer the world. The seat 
of her central government is to China the center 
of the universe. While she slumbered, some of 
the children and upstarts among foreign na- 
tions tried to convince themselves that this was 
not true. But the dragon is stirring again and 
the world may well be surprised. Nothing more 
unexpected has occurred since the fall of Baby- 
lon, Athens, or Eome. Yes, a few things have 
happened since China went to sleep; America 
has been discovered and a great nation has re- 
sulted, political power has shifted in Europe 
from Spain to other countries ; Japan, a trouble- 
some little group of islands near her coastline, 
has shown remarkable vigor, and the heir to the 
imperial throne of her ancient sister, Korea, is 
a prisoner in his palace. The huge dragon 
realizes all of these things — ^none better than 
she — and the world wonders what is about to 
happen. The great French emperor said that 
China's awakening would change the face of 
the globe. Lord Wolseley added; *'They are 
the most remarkable race on earth and I have 
always thought and still believe them to be the 
coming rulers of the world." 

Aware of these things which are now common 
knowledge, I knew that one who had postponed 
his tour of China until the last Manchu em- 



4 The Spell of China 

peror was lying in his tomb and Yuan Shi-k'ai 
ruled the country as an unpopular president, 
having unsuccessfully attempted to declare him- 
self emperor and to found a new dynasty, must 
feel as one passing through Dante's gate and 
** abandon hope" of seeing China as she was 
in the days before the awakening. Probably, 
in the rather lengthy days of the Pacific voy- 
age, I imagined that China in transition could 
not be so fascinating to the Westerner as in the 
older day when the Son of Heaven sat on his 
throne and any abortive attempt to change the 
ancient customs and manners was speedily an- 
swered by the sending of the silken cord, or 
decapitation. But the preconceived notions 
were quickly dissipated after arriving on Chi- 
nese soil. 

One of the first things that attracted my at- 
tention was a big, stalwart Chinese blacksmith 
at his forge, swinging a sledge hammer. 
Stripped to the waist and wearing only bathing- 
trunks, his great bronze body was picturesque, 
as he stood only a couple of feet beyond the en- 
trance of his shop on the public thoroughfare. 
And this powerful blacksmith at his forge wore 
a wrist-watch! At least in his own mind, he 
was very modern. He had adopted Western no- 
tions; at least he had adapted them to his own 



A City of Terraces 



requirements. At the moment he merely 
caused a smile, but, as the days passed, he be- 
came not only typical of Hongkong, where I 
saw him, of Southern China, where the great 
revolutionary movements originate, but also of 
the vast republic. I thought of him when visit- 
ing great commercial establishments, factories, 
hotels and even in the palaces of China's rulers. 
He was a veritable symbol of the great republic 
of four hundred millions of people, Orientals at 
heart and by heredity and training, who are 
popularly supposed to be adopting the civiliza- 
tion of the West, but who, in reality, are absorb- 
ing much of it and adapting it to their own re- 
quirements. A wrist-watch on a half-naked 
Chinese blacksmith! At the moment it was 
funny, but six weeks later it was no funnier than 
when I sat at table with a Chinese statesman and 
observed him wrestling with the intricacies of a 
knife and fork and attempting to swallow bread 
and butter without a word of disgust for the 
things that Westerners eat and the awkward 
implements employed in the process. 

But this combination of knives, forks and 
chopsticks, or that of the undressed blacksmith 
and the wrist-watch, and thousands or tens of 
thousands of combinations of the ancient and 
modern, the unmistakable evidences of the 



The SpeU of China 



^'aAvakening" of China, should not discourage 
the prospective tourist. He should not draw 
upon his imagination, after reading of prog- 
ress in China, fearing that everything has 
changed and that human eyes are no longer 
privileged to see the splendid or sordid sides of 
the amazing country which many serious writers 
have put down as the "hope of humanity." 
There is also the reverse side of the picture. 
There is much in China that can never change, 
much that it will take centuries to change ; and, 
as before hinted, the veneer of Western civiliza- 
tion, the adaptation or misappropriation of oc- 
cidental borrowings leaves the country as fas- 
cinating to the tourist as ever before, and the 
means of communication, hotels, railroads, even 
the attitude of the people towards the stranger 
have changed only for the better, and contribute 
a comfort, even a luxury, to Chinese travel and 
sight-seeing that were unheard of when the Son 
of Heaven sat on his throne. 

Less than twenty years ago, even enthusiastic 
travelers who approached China's shores soon 
lost their enthusiasm and confined their visits 
to the larger coast cities, unless being specially 
desirous of reaching some inland point they 
pressed on and usually had tales of hardship to 
relate afterwards, inevitably ending with ad- 



A City of Terraces 



vice to others to profit by their misfortunes. 
Even the globe-trotters who ventured into the 
great ports usually were satisfied to "do'* 
China in a few hours from a rikisha or sedan 
chair. As late as the year 1900 a well-informed 
writer said: "Nobody travels in China for 
pleasure," yet, for centuries, every traveler 
who put pen to paper, after penetrating beyond 
the outer crust of China, the principal port 
cities, scarcely found his vocabulary sufficient 
to communicate his impressions of the mag- 
nificent enigma. It was all a, colossal contradic- 
tion, quite appropriate to the subject, for China 
was and is the supreme paradox of the earth. 
The so-called "Riddle of the Sphinx" is a prob- 
lem for children by comparison. China is in- 
comprehensible to the Western mind, just as it 
was when the first "paleface" arrived in the 
country. As it has been often repeated, the 
Westerner who attempts to understand is either 
a sublime egotist or a fool. But this eternal 
paradox and contradiction, even the well-meant 
advice of early travelers have had only one 
effect, and that has been to arouse curiosity and 
to attract attention to China. Perhaps it was 
true, in a measure, that travelers did not go to 
the celestial empire for pleasure twenty years 
ago. It is not true of the celestial republic to- 



8 The Spell of China 

day. The world's steamers discharge thou- 
sands of passengers on Chinese soil every year, 
and what was once a ''forbidden country," now 
attracts hordes of pleasure-seekers. Perhaps 
Americans are in the lead numerically, as the 
hotel lobbies swarm with them, the English lan- 
guage being heard more frequently than any 
other, excepting the countless dialects of China 
itself. China has become a favorite playground 
for sight-seers. Many of them are sophisti- 
cated travelers who find that the most novel 
sights on earth are among earth's oldest people. 
I entered China by her great southern gate- 
way, Hongkong; and for many reasons would 
recommend this route to others. Hongkong is 
the Asiatic terminus of many steamship lines 
that girdle the globe. It seems to be the great 
Chinese point of communication with every- 
where. Something similar exists in New York 
as a gateway to the eastern part of the United 
States. Just as there is a Boston and Phila- 
delphia, so there is a Shanghai and Tientsin in 
China. The city of Hankow is located on the 
Yangzte-kiang inland, but approachable by 
steamer, as if Chicago were in the headwaters 
of the Mississippi. Travelers having a distinct 
destination may select other ports and find it a 
saving of time and a convenience, but for one 



A City of Terraces 



who goes to China to see as much of the coun- 
try as possible in a given time, Hongkong is the 
preferable gateway and more easily reached 
than any of the others, because it seems to have 
direct communication by steamers with all the 
other great ports of the world, as one readily 
realizes upon consulting the sailing lists of the 
world's steamship lines. 

I admit that my first impression of China was 
not wholly up to anticipations, but China was 
not to blame, neither were the Chinese. A 
heavy tropical rain was falling and heavy 
clouds hung over the hills that surround the 
''Gibraltar of the Orient," looked upon by many 
strategists as important to Great Britain as the 
colossal granite gateway to the Mediterranean. 
A few Chinese junks, with batwing sails, floated 
close to the ship as we came to anchor in the 
bay. Naked yellow sailors, and men with long 
capes made of palm-leaves came close by — ^men 
and sails dripping wet. And to the depressing 
scene was added the rather ridiculous examina- 
tion by the British officials, who seemed to sus- 
pect that every comparatively innocent tourist 
who needed a change of clothing, necessarily 
placed in a box for the convenience of traveling, 
was a terrible spy of the enemy with designs 
upon Hongkong and carrying enough bombs in 



10 The Spell of China 

a small handbag to blow the place to atoms. 
But these were days of unusual excitement at 
home, and Englishmen in Colonial possessions 
were, perhaps, over-zealous in watchfulness. 
Hongkong is a free port, and the world's peo- 
ple usually come and go with less restraint or 
red tape inquiry and investigation than is com- 
monly met with in other great ports of the 
world. Even the inconvenience of registering 
at the police office of Hongkong on arrival and 
departure was easily overlooked in after days 
when many pleasant memories of the place 
crowded for recognition in recollections of the 
visit. 

Hongkong, contrary to popular impression, is 
not a city, but an island, the capital of which is 
Victoria, named after England's beloved queen. 
'^Hongkong," however, usually means the city, 
and one rarely speaks of Victoria, or hears the 
word spoken. It is as if New York City were 
called ''Manhattan," the name of the island on 
which it is located. The vast harbor covers a 
water area of about ten square miles, with dif- 
ferent channel entrances for ships from Aus- 
tralia, the Philippines, or Straits Settlements, 
and those which come from the northern coast, 
Japan and North America.. Perhaps there is a 
more beautiful harbor on earth, the distinction 



A City of Terraces 11 

having been claimed for Nagasaki, Naples, Al- 
giers and Rio Janeiro. The last mentioned I 
have not visited, but I have been on ships that 
poked their noses into the other waters, and ex- 
cepting that ^' pearl surrounded by emeralds," 
Algiers, I have no hesitancy in casting a vote 
for Hongkong. It seems an exalted Mediter- 
ranean port, a gigantic replica of those beauti- 
ful bays along the French Eiviera that have 
long prompted the admiration of the world. It 
seems land-locked, the beautiful hills rising in 
all directions around the azure waters of the 
bay. The steamer that floats into the harbor 
and passes an island or two, seems hopelessly 
''trapped" to the stranger. Only the experi- 
enced traveler will be able to see by which chan- 
nel the ships enter from Pacific waters. And 
just as Venice is a never-to-be-forgotten mar- 
vel, if approached at sunrise, as the beautiful 
bride of the Adriatic seems to be rising from 
the waves, so there is a weird distinction to 
this city of granite which, as Longfellow said of 
Amalfi, seems to be dipping her toes in the sea, 
and then rising by staircase streets far off to the 
top of the hill known as the "Peak," a height of 
only twelve hundred feet, but seeming to be 
much higher, either when the bay is viewed from 
the heights, or when the mountainside first 



12 The Spell of China 

comes to sight from the deck of an incoming 
steamer. 

But it was raining in Hongkong; it was the 
"rainy season." Now, every one who has 
traveled to tropical and semi-tropical countries, 
feels that he has seen rain. The American is 
obliged to go no further from home than 
Panama or other Central American States to see 
the sky open, drenching the earth with great 
torrents that seem to threaten the older inter- 
pretation of the Biblical rainbow. But it is 
safe to venture the opinion that one who has not 
been in Hongkong in the ''rainy season" has 
never seen rain. In many other districts fa- 
mous for their precipitation, the rain comes in 
showers. Thus, in Panama it rains many times 
a day at certain seasons of the year. In Hong- 
kong it rains ceaselessly for twenty-four hours 
a day *4n season," and frequently the water- 
fall continues for many days, even weeks. 
Fortunately, the city of Victoria nestles against 
the verdant hillside and the streets have wide 
stone gutters that carry the torrents to the har- 
bor. Men and women in any corner of the earth 
seem to adapt themselves to physical conditions. 
Caspar "Whitney relates that no dinner in a 
Broadway cafe has seemed more appetizing to 
him than did chunks of walrus blubber when he 



A City of Terraces 13 

was in the frozen fields on the trail of the 
muskox. The camel is utilized as man's beast 
of burden in one country, the reindeer serves the 
same purpose elsewhere, and so does the llama 
in Peru, caribou in the Philippines and sheep in 
Madeira. The Westerner, who would consider 
staying indoors during a gentle rain at home, 
soon becomes accustomed to the terrific rain- 
fall of Hongkong. Water-proof clothing be- 
comes a necessary part of his wardrobe, and he 
ventures forth with no more thought than he 
would give to the tropical sunshine that sug- 
gests the advisability of a helmet and umbrella. 
Hongkong is not typically Chinese; techni- 
cally speaking, it is not Chinese at all, being a 
British possession, where a large part of the 
population of about one-half million is Mongo- 
lian. The island was first occupied by the 
British in 1839, when they hurriedly left Canton, 
Macao and other cities further south, as a re- 
sult of the opium disputes. It is likely that the 
name is derived from the Chinese "Heung- 
kong" which means "Fragrant Streams," an 
appellation arising from the fact that the ships 
of the East India company came there for water 
from the hillsides before starting on return 
voyages. Previous to 1839, the island was in- 
habited by not more than four thousand natives, 



14 The Spell of China 

most of whom, like the natives of Yokohama, 
Japan, previous to the coming of the white man, 
were engaged in deep-sea fishing, a trade of vast 
importance in a country where fish forms one 
of the principal articles of food. Hongkong 
was established as a crown colony in 1843. 
The peninsula of Kowloon, which stretches out 
near to the island, had been occupied for some 
time as a sanitarium by the British, for in the 
earlier days of occupation, terrible pestilences 
like cholera and fever had swept over the place ; 
and in 1898, by the terms of a convention at 
Peking, Kowloon and several islands, most of 
which were desired for purposes of defense, 
about four hundred square miles in all, were 
leased to Great Britain for ninety-nine years. 

I had not been many hours in Hongkong, how- 
ever, before I absorbed enough '' atmosphere" 
to know that I was in China, for although I 
heard an Englishman say that *'one white man 
is worth a thousand Chinks," and the propor- 
tion of population, even in Hongkong, seems to 
the stranger to be almost at that figure, my eyes 
were on the Chinese rather than the British, 
who came to the hotel for the inevitable tea as 
punctually as when their country was not en- 
gaged in warfare. England always impresses 
foreign colonies with three of her institutions: 



A City of Terraces 15 

tea in the afternoon, handkerchiefs pushed up 
the sleeves and ^' dress" for dinner. They are 
the same everywhere. Nobody who comes into 
contact with them expects anything else. An 
American who has done a business running as 
high as twenty thousand dollars in one year 
with an English manufacturer in the Far East, 
told me that he had brok^en off formerly pleasant 
relations on account of the ''tea habit." Hav- 
ing but a few hours, while his ship was in port, 
he called upon the dealer to place his order, but 
the Englishman said: ''You will pardon me, 
please, but you have called exactly at my tea- 
hour," whereupon he put on his hat and started 
to go out. The American said: "I will not 
only pardon you, but I shall never see you 
again," and the Englishman lost his customer. 
Put him on a cocoanut island in the middle of 
the ocean, and you will find that he is the same ; 
tea, handkerchief and "mess jacket" for din- 
ner. Perhaps these things are innocent amuse- 
ments in themselves, but the trouble lies in the 
fact that they impress themselves upon the 
"natives," who adopt them because they want 
to be "like white men." These things thrive 
in Egypt and other colonies, if the English have 
been there long, but I have never seen them car- 
ried to such a ridiculous extent as in Hong- 



16 The Spell of China 

kong. The climate is usually hot and the na- 
tives dress for the weather, most of them, so 
it is rather absurd to see a "Chino" wearing 
European clothes in an effort to be ''English." 

But this commingling of East and West may 
be a part of the charm of Hongkong. It is a 
great city and magnificently situated seaport, 
populated chiefly by people who seem to be 
neither oriental nor occidental. Although they 
would not admit it, the English of long residence 
have absorbed much of the East, doing it un- 
consciously. One who entertained me at dinner 
at his home, served soup in the place of dessert, 
in the oriental fashion. But the occidental is 
not a natural or good imitator; the oriental is. 

On the second or third day, I took the cable 
railway that runs up to the Peak, which lies 
back of the city on the mountaintop. The city 
is really in three stories. Business houses of 
the better sort are on the waterfront, where the 
sun sizzles. The natives dwell in crowded 
streets on the middle terrace. The Europeans, 
principally the English, dwell on the top shelf. 

On the Peak, where the cable railway dis- 
charges its passengers every fifteen minutes, 
one might fancy himself in England, were it not 
for the fact that every white man or woman is 
carried around the streets in a sedan chair or 




PEAK RAILWAY. HONGKONG 



A City of Terraces 17 

on the shoulders of coolies. Troupes of Chi- 
nese servants fill the streets, attending to the 
business of their masters' households. Serv- 
ants are so cheap that the white man of diminu- 
tive income can stock his house with half a dozen 
of them without feeling the financial strain. 
White men soon become lazy and demand much 
waiting upon in this climate. It is argued that 
this fact is one of the ** inducements" that keeps 
men of moderate means in the East. On every 
hand one hears from the natives and foreigners 
alike that there are ''too many people." 
Enough survive the plagues and pestilences, in- 
fant deaths and typhoons (one typhoon caused 
the death of ten thousand persons a few years 
ago) to keep the great country swarming with 
population. It is not so much a question how to 
preserve the human race in China as it is how to 
find something for the people to do. When 
skilled embroiderers and makers of artistic ob- 
jects average from eleven cents to fifteen cents 
a day for work from sunrise until sunset, it is 
not surprising that servants are glad to accept 
even the ridiculous amounts offered to them to 
act as domestic or personal servants. 

Hongkong is so damp that clothing is wet, 
when put on in the morning, and still wet when 
it is taken off at night. Thick mildew covers 



18 The Spell of China 

shoes in a single night. It is advisable to take 
everything from one's trunk and closets and 
give things a good " airing, " at least every three 
or four days. Merchants wrap everything ex- 
cepting food in oiled paper, so that the damp- 
ness will not ruin it if it is left unwrapped for 
three or four days. Verily, one who enters 
China by this port, and leaves it after a few 
days — or weeks — after living in the Anglicized 
hotels, as so many American tourists are said 
to do, gains a very inadequate and very inac- 
curate picture of China or the Chinese. Even 
a peep at the beautiful city is better than not to 
have come at all, but conditions have changed, 
and one should no more remain at Hongkong 
and think he has seen South China than he would 
visit Marseilles and think that he has seen 
France. 

English residents have made it quite ** incor- 
rect" and socially forbidden to be seen talking 
with Chinese, or to be seen in the Chinese quar- 
ters of the city. When I told an Englishman 
that I would like to be presented to a famous 
Chinese authoress, he replied: *'I could ar- 
range for you to go and see her all right, and I 
presume it would be all right for you to go be- 
cause you are a stranger ; but really you '11 have 
to excuse me, I couldn't be seen at the house of 



A City of Terraces 19 

a Chino. ' ' Then I mentioned a famous Chinese 
official whose name is well known in the United 
States and asked if he were obliged to submit to 
any of this snobbery. 

''When one of the boys is invited to this 
Chink's house to dinner, he usually comes to the 
club, explains that he must go to the Chino 's 
house and we laugh it off, knowing his obliga- 
tions. But, really, such things are not done. 
One would not care to be caught conversing 
about anything but business with a Chinese." 

Perhaps the British officials know the ''native 
city, ' ' but the civilians do not. It would not be 
"good form" to be aware of its existence even, 
and as most tourists burden themselves with 
that foolish old custom of trying to behave as 
the Eomans do in Eome, usually making a botch 
of it, which would mean to try and be "Eng- 
lish" in Hongkong, comparatively few strangers 
see the real life of the native city. 

On the second sjielf of the mountainside 
Hongkong is delightful. A big native theater 
flourishes with nightly change of bill. The hall 
is so large that it seats probably three thousand 
persons, yet I found it necessary, after paying 
a premium to a ticket speculator for the first 
night, to obtain admission at all to speak for 
seats a day in advance on all subsequent occa- 



20 The Spell of China 

sions. There are scores, perhaps hundreds of 
mammoth restaurants always filled to overflow- 
ing at midnight, and the streets have a distinc- 
tive native flavor long after the sun has set and 
England in China is at its club or at home in 
bed. This side of Hongkong life is not disap- 
pointing and is worthy of a close inspection by 
strangers. Sir Walter Scott's advice: **Be 
aye stickin' in a tree," has been followed by the 
foreigners in Hongkong, so that there are 
splendid avenues bordered by large shade trees 
and many of the English residences are set in 
beautiful gardens of camellias, roses, poinsettias 
and many other flowering shrubs and plants that 
combine the charm of the English suburban villa 
with sub-tropical vegetation, always green- 
leafed and brilliant flowered. Despite the tor- 
rential rains and the sultry climate, it is likely 
that the island of Hongkong, previous to settle- 
ment by the English, was rocky and barren. At 
the present time, there is little ground space for 
agriculture, which is confined almost entirely 
to garden truck raising ; but trees seem to cover 
the hillsides and thrive in the valleys. One co- 
lonial governor of Britain was instrumental in 
having over one million trees planted during his 
administration. There is a fine botanical gar- 
den along the route of the Peak cable tram. 



A City of Terraces 21 

which, by the way, was the first to be placed in 
operation in Asia. It is an inspiring view to 
look down upon the city and harbor from this 
height, and then again from still further up at 
the terminus of the line. One should go in the 
daytime and then again at night. Beautiful on 
a clear day, it is all no less so in the evening, 
when the ships in the harbor have lights and 
hundreds of sampans, each with a lantern or 
candle, flit over the water, seeming to be fire- 
flies flashing in the tropical night. 

The streets of Hongkong are either shelves 
on the hillside or long staircases, which make 
all vehicles, excepting sedan chairs and rik- 
ishas, useless. The stranger from the West 
who has not stopped en route in Japanese ports 
or the Straits Settlements will thus have his first 
ride in the little pneumatic tired sulkies of Nip- 
ponese origin, which are becoming popular in 
countries as far distant as South Africa. Ex- 
cepting when it rains, however, or when it is 
very hot and one has a long distance to travel, 
walking about Hongkong is preferable to rid- 
ing. Many of the principal streets are arcaded 
as in several European countries, and one may 
visit the principal shops without going from 
under cover except at street crossings. Hong- 
kong is not one of the shopping centers of China, 



22 The Spell of China 

however, and the stranger is advised to wait 
until he reaches other cities before succumbing 
to the lure of embroideries, ivories, laces, linen 
and jade that cannot escape his eyes and are 
likely to drain his purse elsewhere. In these 
matters of trade, the Hongkong merchants cater 
chiefly to passengers from incoming steamers 
who remain but a few hours and go away satis- 
fied with usually inferior materials, for which 
they pay a price double, treble or quadruple that 
charged further inland. 

Hongkong is the most distant outpost of the 
British empire, the Irish soldier remarking that 
his government could not send him further from 
home without bringing him nearer. Its ship- 
ping has grown to vast proportions. In the 
year 1861, only slightly over one thousand ships 
cleared the port ; just before the outbreak of the 
European war, the number had increased to over 
twenty thousand. It is difficult to obtain exact 
figures concerning the value of the exports and 
imports, owing to the fact that Hongkong is a 
free port, but the amount is supposed to be over 
a total valuation of six hundred million of dol- 
lars. Hundreds of ships seem continually rock- 
ing nervously on the great watery expanse be- 
fore South China's great waterway, but they 
are foreign ships assembled at a point which 



A City of Terraces 23 

seems to be most blatant example of foreign 
exploitation on earth. 

Almost the first question asked of the return- 
ing tourist is regarding the foreign accommoda- 
tions at Chinese hotels, concerning which ignor- 
ance seems to be general in Western countries, 
and a point on which books of Eastern travel 
have been ominously silent, excepting where en- 
durance ceased to be a virtue and a tale of suffer- 
ing, privation or disgust was unfolded. Hotel 
accommodations at Hongkong are fairly typi- 
cal of what one finds in other parts of China at 
the present time. Probably conditions have 
changed in the past few years, they are not what 
they were; but there is still a chance for im- 
provement. The principal cities have commo- 
dious hotels, where comfortable and hygienic 
sleeping accommodations, ample service, and a 
fairly good cuisine need cause no qualms to the 
prospective tourist. The hotels are not equal to 
those of Broadway, New York, not even equal 
to the larger hostelries in Japan, but they are 
superior to many ** leading hotels" in outlying 
districts in America, and compare very favor- 
ably to what was encountered in our own West- 
ern cities down to the beginning of the Twen- 
tieth Century. 

The food is cooked in European style and the 



24 The Spell of China 

service is in kind. One might travel the length 
and width of China, at least where he is able to 
penetrate by railroad or steamer, and never so 
much as taste what is generally known in Amer- 
ica as ''Chinese Food." In fact, many of the 
concoctions served at ''oriental restaurants" at 
home are purely American inventions, not pro- 
curable in a restaurant or hotel in the vast Chi- 
nese republic. What we know as ' ' Chop Suey ' ' 
in its myriad forms, is one of these and is known 
only by name in China, "the name given some- 
thing prepared for the viceroy, Li Hung-chang, 
when he was in America." In general appear- 
ance, even in flavor, there is a similarity between 
"chop suey" and popular and very common 
dishes prepared by native cooks for the Chinese 
coolies, but one would not find them at the tables 
of a Chinese who made any pretense to "class," 
and he would not find them at the large native 
restaurants in the larger cities of China, some 
of which make a specialty of catering to tour- 
ists and other foreigners, who have a desire to 
have at least one meal in the style of the coun- 
try in which they are traveling. But the tour- 
ist must go out of his way to obtain even this 
sample of Chinese dishes. No "native" dish is 
served at European hotels, as is often the case 
in foreign hotels of Spain or Italy. These 




LI HUNG CHANG 



A City of Terraces 25 

dishes cannot be ordered and obtained at the 
hotels. At all of them, the menu card for each 
meal is practically the same as it would be in a 
first-class hotel at home, excepting that there is 
less variety. Meats may not taste exactly as 
they do when they come from American kitch- 
ens, there is less skill in the preparation of 
vegetables, and the milk is likely to be absent, or 
present only in condensed form, but the fowl 
is good, so are eggs, and the same is true of 
bread, butter, ordinary pastry, ices and pud- 
dings. Strangers do not eat ''green" vegeta- 
bles, owing to the Chinese methods of fertiliza- 
tion. Bottled waters are practically impera- 
tive, but they are abundant, and the well-known 
brands are always obtainable. ''Tansan" and 
''Hirano," familiar to all travelers in Japan, 
are most popular, but French and German 
waters and wines are listed on all hotel cards. 
Prices are about the same as elsewhere ; per- 
haps a little higher than in Europe, but no more 
so than in Canada and the United States. All 
foreign hotels are operated on the ''American 
plan," which includes breakfast, luncheon, din- 
ner and sleeping accommodations with "tea" at 
five o'clock in the afternoon if desired. The 
customary charge is from five dollars a day up, 
although some hotels range their prices a dollar 



26 The Spell of China 

lower than that figure. This includes all serv- 
ice, and fees to servants are usually much lower 
than at home. In this matter one may suit his 
purse, however, as most of the larger hotels have 
suites of rooms to which figures are attached 
which seem strangely familiar and reminiscent 
of our own large cities. In China, as elsewhere, 
one gets approximately what he pays for; and 
charges in the Orient are not more exorbitant 
than in the Occident. 



CHAPTER II 

CANTON THE INCREDIBLE 

!iHE first excursion from Hongkong is 
likely to be one of the most remarkable 
the Westerner has undertaken during 
many wanderings far away from home, because 
it will bring him to Canton, in many respects 
the most amazing city on earth. There could 
be no such city beyond the borders of China, and 
conditions are such that there will never be 
another. Among all the large cities of the earth 
it stands unique ; and, built upon a sound foun- 
dation, it has not only endured throughout the 
centuries, but seems likely to endure, unchanged, 
when later centuries have passed. It is in Can- 
ton that many of the great changes are propa- 
gated and nursed. There began the revolt in 
the early days of the Twentieth Century that 
freed the country of Manchu rule and placed a 
president at the head of a republic which had 
been ruled by imperial dynasties dating back 
further than authentic history. Canton was the 
revolutionists ' stronghold ; its people have been 

27 



28 The Spell of China 

noted for their independent thought down 
through the ages. But Canton itself does not 
change. New buildings of granite or sandstone 
may replace tumble-down structures of wood or 
brick, but they remain the same in architectural 
essentials and purpose. New generations come 
and go. Many of Canton's citizens go to the 
ends of the earth, make their fortunes, return 
home and, suffering no "taint" from contact 
with the outside world, take up their life where 
they left off when they went away. Again they 
become Cantonese, as if they had never seen 
anything beyond the walls of their strange city. 
They quickly lose themselves in the great 
swarming mass of humanity in Canton's narrow 
streets. Even the boat-life does not change, 
and the boat-dwellers form a distinct and numer- 
ous class by themselves; it is remarkable that 
they are born, live and die on tiny craft of prob- 
ably the same size and shape that were the dwell- 
ing-places of their ancestors when Marco Polo 
visited the city and, being much impressed, 
wrote so much truth about it that he was sus- 
pected of exaggeration and untruth by his own 
and following generations. Perhaps their 
status as individuals experiences a slight change 
with the passing of dynasties. Perhaps they 
are better housed and fed than they were a few 



Canton the Incredible 29 

centuries back, and it is probable that there is 
less human suffering, a slightly greater respect 
for human life than in the days of Marco Polo. 
But in a broad and general way. Canton is 
the same as it was in the dim yesterdays of 
history ; it will be the dim to-morrows of the fu- 
ture. 

It is possible to make the trip between Hong- 
kong and Canton by rail, a distance of slightly 
over one hundred miles, usually consuming 
about five hours and affording a peep at village 
and country life that is not to be ignored. But 
the stranger should preferably go by boat, which 
leaves the Hongkong docks each night and ar- 
rives in Canton early in the morning, when the 
city's weird activity is just coming to life, after 
the only quiet hours of the twenty-four, those 
between two or three and five o'clock. 

The boat ride is not without many thrills, first 
of which is provided by the vigorous precautions 
against sudden attacks by pirates. White pas- 
sengers aboard are assigned to a certain portion 
of the deck space, the whistles and other signals 
of departure are sounded, heavy iron gates are 
drawn across companion ways and locked, so 
that passage beyond them is impossible in either 
direction. Two guards, armed with loaded 
rifles, begin to patrol the deck and never discon- 



30 The Spell of China 

tinue doing so until the steamer is safely tied up 
at the dock in Canton's principal waterway. 

Some of the precautions seem to be unneces- 
sary, but who can be certain pirates have not 
taken passage in the second class and that at a 
signal they will swoop down upon the first cabin 
passengers after the boat is in the silent reaches 
of the river that flows betv/een hills known to 
be inhabited by water thieves 1 They have done 
that very thing in recent years, as the file of the 
Hongkong papers will prove. Not long ago 
they came close to one of the river steamers, set 
fire to it and there was a great loss of life and 
property. The government seems to be power- 
less, so the steamship companies, native and 
foreign, take the matter in their own hands, and 
their guards carry rifles to pick off the sus- 
picious characters which they see at a distance ; 
they also carry revolvers and pistols for use at 
close range. 

It is a pleasant cruise among the islands of the 
harbor, and in about two hours the ship passes 
beyond the old Bogue fortresses into the muddy 
waters of the Pearl Eiver. There are extensive 
plantations on the banks of the river devoted to 
rice, lichee and banana growing, with occasional 
groups of houses and other buildings that re- 
mind one of the landscape along the lower 



Canton the Incredible 31 

reaches of the Mississippi, where it flows on to 
the Gulf below New Orleans. On our first trip 
over the route, however, we took the night 
steamer for the purpose of making sure of the 
wonderful experience of getting our first im- 
pression of Canton at dawn. 

No Chinese pirates interfered with our prog- 
ress and we could see the city in the distance as 
the sun was rising. But this was merely our 
good fortune and should not be taken as a sug- 
gestion that steamship officials are too watchful 
of their boats and passengers. It is a well- 
known and proved fact that at least thirty thou- 
sand pirates live in Canton and along the watery 
arms that lead into the country from the me- 
tropolis. Sometimes the ships cruise close to 
the shores where the law-breakers are known to 
be hiding, but they conceal themselves in the 
underbrush that grows close to the water's edge 
and up among the trees on the hillsides. They 
do not attack every day or every week, but one 
never knows when the steamer sails from port 
whether it is to be an uneventful voyage or one 
of great dangers. When the pirates are cap- 
tured, as they are when they become too bold, 
the authorities have little mercy and order them 
shot immediately. Not long ago fifty were shot 
in one week in Canton and two hundred in five 



32 The Spell of China 

weeks. Still, it is believed that the number of 
pirates increases as the years pass. 

Canton officials admit their inability to cope 
with the problem. And this seems strange, per- 
haps, in a city that recently has pretended to up- 
hold the loftiest modern civilization standards 
in all China. There are reactionaries who com- 
plain that the younger element is too modern. 
For example, I saw the translation of a report 
that the city is now quite hygienic, because a 
law has been passed forbidding the eating of 
rats, which are plague-carriers, and allowing for 
rat depositories at the corners of the principal 
streets, where residents are requested to bring 
dead rats, which they find in their houses. The 
edict has gone forth against rats as food, but 
many are still eaten as "medicine" by the weak 
people, who desire to become strong. One sees 
them exposed in the market places for sale ; and 
there is no law that protects cats, dogs, cock- 
roaches or snakes. I saw many old Maltese cats 
and young dogs, as well as four-foot snakes, 
being peddled through the thoroughfares in 
crates, almost as frequently as vegetables or 
other wares. 

As we looked ahead from the deck of the 
steamer we could see the vast city over which the 
famous Five-Storied Pagoda was rising fan- 



Canton the Incredible 33 

tastically among lower structures, even the sub- 
stantial structures that are characteristic of all 
Chinese cities, the pawn-shops for the poor, 
which are also store-houses for the rich. The 
poor go to them when sorely in need of a few 
pennies for clothing which they are able to dis- 
card during mild weather, and the rich, who are 
possessors of vast wardrobes, place their un- 
seasonable garments in the buildings that are 
supposed to be "fire-proof," although it is likely 
that no such thing exists in China. 

It was no effort to rise that morning on the 
Pearl River, because the din was terrific long 
before we reached the city. The people seemed 
to be shouting to each other as if doomsday had 
come. Many of them were horrible looking old 
women who carry on much of the trade of the 
city in small sampans, which can penetrate to the 
city's heart by means of the foul, narrow canals. 
They stand at the bow of the boat and steer it, 
while it is rowed with one big oar by boys or 
girls. And they shout in husky voices at each 
turn of the oar, yelping as loud as the coolies 
who scream for people to make room for the 
chairs they are carrying. Their mission down 
the river may have had a dual purpose. They 
may have been delivering merchandise to the 
small villages or the plantations, but they were 



34 The Spell of China 

also dipping nets into the river, and threw long 
lines overboard for the purpose of catching fish 
for breakfast. So far as we were able to ob- 
serve, their energy was not rewarded, which 
may have accounted for the noise. Certainly 
they seemed to be particularly angry, and it was 
not unusual to see one of them pull up a net, 
observe its emptiness and then abuse the mem- 
bers of her crew in her disappointment and 
disgust. 

At frequent intervals we passed funeral boats, 
but they were the noisiest of all. Some of them 
equaled the din of a boiler factory with the ad- 
ditional ''music" of a siren screeching and bells 
ringing. Perhaps the corpse was four or five 
months old. The priests or fortune-tellers had 
not found a proper time for burial, so coffins 
were carried to the decks of these boats where 
they remained. The sun was rising, so servants 
of the departed were smashing together great 
Chinese cymbals, to frighten away the evil 
spirits. 

The name of the big city is derived from the 
Chinese Kwang-tung ; but this is only one of the 
various names it has had during the passing of 
the centuries. On the opposite bank of the 
river are the cities of Ho-nam and Wa-ti, which 
might have some interest for the traveler were 



Canton the Incredible 35 

it not for the fact that Canton is always more, 
interesting than anything else in the neighbor- 
hood, and no matter how often he has plunged 
into the swarming streets, no matter how often 
his eyes have been offended by what he saw, 
his nostrils by the fetid odors, or his ears by 
the incessant hum of many voices, he will gladly 
repeat the excursion as often as time will per- 
mit. Canton has a tremendous fascination for 
every one who enjoys looking upon unbelieva- 
ble sights. 

The steamer from Hongkong comes up to the 
street that runs along the river front ; but pas- 
sengers discharged from the steamer quickly 
take sedan chairs and are carried a short dis- 
tance along what is known as the Bund, and, 
after crossing a bridge, are deposited on the 
pleasant island of Shameen. 

As we approached the landing it seemed cer- 
tain that the pirates had come at last. There 
was a spiked, high iron railing to keep back 
the crowd, but a hundred men and boys scaled 
those pickets like monkeys going through the 
branches of trees. They jumped from the 
decks of river boats to other boats, like Eliza 
crossing the ice in ''Uncle Tom's Cabin," 
finally landing on the sides of our steamer, 
howling and gesticulating like the worst pirati- 



36 The Spell of China 

.cal crew that ever boarded a sMp. They surged 
around us and yelled at us through the bars 
that held them back. It seemed difficult to tell 
whether they or the ship's passengers were held 
prisoners. But they were comparatively inno- 
cent porters and chair coolies, fighting for a 
job that would give them a few pennies. 

Finally, the officers ordered them back, and 
we reached the shore intact. Having tele- 
graphed the hotel to send chairs and coolies, 
as well as a courier to meet us upon our arrival, 
a plan that is to be recommended to all trav- 
elers making their first visit to Canton, we were 
soon lifted over the heads of the mob on the 
river front. The steel gates on the bridge were 
opened for our chairs to pass and we were de- 
posited in a garden on the island, where break- 
fast was awaiting us, and we completed ar- 
rangements for our first plunge into the city 
across the river. 

The commercial importance of Canton is such 
that many Europeans, consular officers and mer- 
chants, are obliged to live there. But it was 
almost an impossibility for them to live within 
the city, so the French and British govern- 
ments spent a large amount of money in mak- 
ing Shameen habitable. Supposedly, the peo- 
ple on Shameen are safe, cut off as they are by 



Canton the Incredible 37 

the guards, gates and bridges. But there is 
still the river to be reckoned with, so the banks 
of the island have high barbed wire entangle- 
ments, through which it would be very difficult 
to pass. Chinese are not allowed to step foot 
upon the island, without permission from the 
European owners. 

One sits in front of the comfortable hotel, be- 
neath big shade trees, and views the great 
walled city across the river much as a boy 
would sit outside a big circus tent curious to 
know what is going on inside. The walls date 
from about the Sixteenth Century, but they are 
doubtless built upon older walls. At present 
they are twenty-five feet high and from fifteen 
to twenty-five feet wide at the top, with a cir- 
cumference of about ten miles. There are sev- 
enteen gates, and those who go in and come out 
are searched for firearms, excepting the Euro- 
peans, who cross the bridge from Shameen and 
seem to pass unmolested by the guards, appar- 
ently vouched for by their respective govern- 
ments. 

It is impossible to take an authentic census 
of the city, although several serious attempts 
have been made to do so in recent years. Down 
to the beginning of the present century it was 
usually supposed that about one million per- 



38 The Spell of China 

sons dwelt within the walls, but recent esti- 
mates have placed the number at two million, 
with a rough estimate of over one hundred thou- 
sand boat-dwellers. When I first saw them 
poling along for space, much as if a hundred 
gondolas were caught in a narrow Venetian 
canal, I thought it possible that people who 
could afford it took to the water after a day in 
the city. But this is not so. Canton also has 
its class distinctions. People who live in boats 
have no social standing. In fact, until the re- 
public was established at Peking, they were not 
allowed to marry with land population. Pre- 
sumably, they are pirates or the descendants 
of pirates and political refugees and escaped 
prisoners. And they look like their ancestors 
must have looked. 

One seats himself in a sedan chair, gives the 
signal and plunges into the city, as he would 
descend into a mine or enter a crystal maze. 
Once beyond the walls no stranger could find 
his way back to the river front. To walk is 
practically impossible, for any one who wears 
clothing, particularly during the summer sea- 
son. The jostling of a stripped-to-the-waist 
population may be disagreeable, if one pause 
to think of it; but a suit of clothes or gown 
rubbed against a thousand or ten thousand per- 



Canton the Incredible 39 

spiring Chinese would be a financial extrava- 
gance. It is necessary to pay coolies about 
seventy-five cents a day to undertake the task. 
So the white people and the better class Chinese 
ride high in the air, over the heads of the 
swarming masses, and come through the ordeal 
with clothing intact — and wiser men in regard 
to the manner of living of a million brothers 
and sisters with yellow skin. 

Of course every one knows that Canton is a 
city of narrow streets. But other cities of the 
world have narrow streets; at least a few of 
them will be found in all oriental towns. But 
nobody can appreciate how narrow streets can 
be until he sees the principal thoroughfares of 
Canton! Some of them, with solid structures 
four or five stories high at their sides, are not 
more than three yards wide. One street, with 
great marble and granite fronts, is not more 
than four yards in width. 

Any one who would attempt to write a de- 
scription of the city in detail must needs de- 
vote a volume or several volumes to it. There 
are many stereotyped sights and sites that will 
not be overlooked by the chair-bearers or the 
courier. Incidentally, the guides of Canton are 
very dependable, intelligent fellows, who speak 
English fluently and seem to take a personal 



40 The Spell of China 

pride in making certain that tlie foreigner is 
enjoying himself. It is not a guide-book 
** sight," however, that will be of particular in- 
terest or amusement to the tourist. The street 
life viewed en route to the temples, shrines, 
theaters and stores, is too commonplace and 
natural to prompt comment from the guide. 
But the eyes of the stranger will behold sights 
such as they have never witnessed before, and 
what is unexpectedly encountered is likely to 
linger in memory after special buildings have 
become confused with those of simlar architec- 
ture elsewhere. 

There are seventy-five trade guilds in Can- 
ton. Most of them have streets or sections de- 
voted almost exclusively to their particular in- 
dustry. For instance, one may find the jade 
dealers and cutters in one section, the shoe deal- 
ers in another, silk dealers, embroiderers, hair, 
wood — and everything else under the sun, all 
in its own quarters. For example, I saw one 
large section of several streets devoted to the 
manufacture and sale of tooth-brushes, most of 
which were said to be destined for America. 

In one large shop I saw a large circle of 
workers spitting into one particular spot, I 
could not understand this effort, until I glanced 




WA-TAP PAGODA. CANTO K 



Canton the Incredible 41 

over their shoulders and saw that young chick- 
ens were eating the spittle. 

A disgusting spectacle! Yes, but not a 
fourth as disgusting as many things that we 
saw that first morning, when we penetrated 
Canton from one wall to the other, passing 
through the heart of the big city. 

But perhaps one becomes accustomed to ev- 
erything. In the afternoon — we were unable to 
eat lunch on the pretty island of Shameen — 
things did not seem to be quite so bad. Dinner 
and a good sleep were refreshing. The sights 
were as disgusting, the odors as foul as the day 
before; but we were less nauseated than the 
day before. We saw that entrails of pigs, 
chickens and ducks cover the tables of the butch- 
ers ' stalls, and an endless variety of truck bet- 
ter left to the imagination of the reader than 
enumerated, is met with in all parts of the city. 
Cockroaches in honey is one delicacy that I 
observed was doing a thriving trade. A million 
people consume much food every day, and al- 
though there is much poverty and filth, the Can- 
tonese are quite plump specimens of humanity 
and rarely show the expected effects of living 
in the airless vat, which they call home. 

One of the amazing sights of Canton is the 



42 The SpeU of China 

City of the Dead. It is an odd affair in which 
there are stalls arranged along an arcade of 
flowery avenues bright with big porcelian jars, 
banners and altars, piled with strange objects 
of tinsel and gilt, representing flowers and ani- 
mals. In each stall there is a coffin and in each 
coffin there is a corpse awaiting burial. How 
long they will be obliged to wait seems to de- 
pend upon the wealth of the individual, or the 
amount that his or her family is willing to pay 
in rent while the priests and sorcerers are decid- 
ing upon an appropriate place for burial, one 
where the body of the deceased will be ''com- 
fortable. ' ' 

"Who runs this place?" I asked the courier. 

"The priests and sorcerers." 

"They collect the rent and also decide upon 
the time for burial?" 

Still an affirmative answer, so I was not sur- 
prised when we saw two coffins in one stall and 
learned that they had been there for four years, 
to find that they inclosed the remains of two 
brothers, members of one of the rich families 
of Canton. It is difficult for a rich man to find 
burial, once he reaches the City of the Dead, as 
the Bible says it is for him to enter heaven. 

After what seemed to be almost a ghoulish 
visit, we went to the temples, many of them, al- 



Canton the Incredible 43 

though one cannot expect to visit the hundred- 
odd structures answering to the general name 
of ''temple," and with the exception of the co- 
lossal and ornate structure known as the An- 
cestors' temple, owned by the powerful Chan 
family, we found everything in decay and filth. 
The stone-paved courtyards were overrun with 
weeds and grass. In what were once temple 
ponds were heaps of rubbish, broken crockery 
and greenish water that sent up a vile stench 
to the nostrils. The interiors were tawdry, 
shabby and filthy, compared to the similar 
structures of Japan, and there were few wor- 
shipers. Those who came brought food and 
drink, which they placed on the altars, or they 
burned punk sticks. They rattled slats in a 
bamboo vase, took out one that called for a 
number and the number called for a prayer. 
This latter was written out on a sheet of red 
paper, which they purchased from the abomina- 
ble looking priests, ignited them at the altar 
tapers and threw them blazing into an old 
bronze receptacle that was shaped like a base- 
burner stove. Then they threw down sticks to 
see from the way in which they fell on the floor 
whether or not their prayers would be an- 
swered. 

At the temple of the five hundred Genii, 



44 The Spell of China 

where there are many idols, we spied the gilt 
image of Marco Polo, and asked the guide why 
it was that this was included among the Budd- 
hist saints. 

''Marco Polo very good man," replied the 
guide, so we bought punk sticks, lighted them 
at the altar and left them burning in the big 
vase in front of the image. Perhaps we were 
not very devout worshipers ; but in this we com- 
pared very favorably with the chattering, 
laughing Chinese crowd that placed punk sticks 
in front of other images. The temple is not a 
very solemn place to the Chinese. 

Coming back through the narrow streets, our 
chairs were suddenly halted. When we com- 
plained, the coolies explained that all traffic was 
stopped for the time. The funeral procession 
of a prominent mandarin's wife was about to 
pass. First came the bands, playing on absurd 
instruments, pounding terrible metal drums and 
creating a horrible din. Then great pieces of 
fresh flowers, so large that four coolies bal- 
anced them with difficulty. There were so 
many of these pieces that it became tiresome 
looking at them. But we were rewarded for 
the monotony of the flowers. On a raised dais, 
over which hung a beautifully embroidered 
canopy, was a big roast pig fresh from the oven. 



Canton the Incredible 45 

He looked quite crisp and tempting. Next 
were huge trays of food, all neatly prepared in 
the best Chinese fashion and daintily distributed 
on plates of fine glass and china. Then came 
the male relatives of the deceased — seemingly 
about a hundred of them — dressed in white robes 
and walking. Then the female relatives in 
sedan chairs. 

A huge canopy, carried by perhaps twenty 
men, had a top like a long umbrella, with cur- 
tains hanging at the sides to the ground. In- 
side this walked the children of the deceased, 
but they could not be seen by the crowds in the 
streets. Then the ''official mourners" among 
the women. I observed several who were so 
stricken by grief that they carried huge turkish 
bath towels to wipe away their tears. Then 
followed more flowers and more bands. Fi- 
nally, we were permitted to proceed, while the 
distinguished lady passed along to the City of 
the Dead, which we had visited an hour before. 

During my visit in Canton I presented a letter 
of introduction to a prominent merchant, a man 
who was well-to-do and of considerable reputa- 
tion in the community because as an officer in 
the local military, he had distinguished himself 
on the occasion of riots. Although he had the 
natural reticence of a Chinese, he made a visible 



46 The Spell of China 

effort to be cordial and not only invited me to 
accompany him to the theater and to weird mid- 
night restaurants that were the rendezvous for 
native gamblers, where foreigners are seldom 
admitted, but also invited me to his house and 
introduced me to the female members of his 
family, a somewhat unusual proceeding, even in 
progressive and revolutionary Canton. One 
day, when I felt that we were sufficiently well 
acquainted for me to ask the question without 
offense, and at the same time obtain a truthful 
answer, I asked him if he had ever tasted rat, 
cat, or dog meat. It seemed incredible that 
these things should be offered for sale in a great 
metropolis ; and, although they were offered for 
sale, was it not a mistake that foreigners be- 
lieved they were eaten ? 

I recalled an experience of a Welsh regiment 
stationed in China. The boys had a pet goat, 
which they considered a mascot and took with 
them everywhere. It had a fine silver collar 
and was led ahead of the regiment even when 
marching to divine service. As the story goes, 
however, they were prevailed upon to leave the 
animal behind, when they learned from the mis- 
sionaries, who had conversed with the people in 
their own language, that the Chinese believed 
the regiment to be a group of goat-worshipers ! 



Canton the Incredible 47 

Was it not possible that Europeans and Ameri- 
cans had drawn a similarly absurd conclusion 
from what they saw and could not understand? 

''No, I have never eaten rats," declared the 
merchant. ''Only the poor or ignorant people 
do. There is the belief that rats are good 'medi- 
cine' and will assist the weak in becoming 
strong. At the present time we have regula- 
tions prohibiting the eating of rats, because they 
are known to spread disease. Anyway, I be- 
lieve they are not good food, and in the past, 
as now, were eaten only by people who could not 
afford more expensive meat. But as to dogs 
and cats, yes, I have eaten them, but I cannot 
say that I am partial to them. But neither one 
is so bad as you seem to think. Old cats and 
young dogs are most in demand by the Canton- 
ese, who do value them as food. But do not be 
surprised, for I have a still greater surprise for 
you, two of them. One is that food eaten by 
Europeans and Americans is often as offensive 
to us as cats and dogs are to you. And now the 
second surprise! What do you suppose is my 
favorite dish?" 

It was a difficult question, after what I had 
seen in the Canton markets, so I made no at- 
tempt at a guess. 

"Snake," shouted the merchant of Canton. 



48 The Spell of China 

*'Yes, sir, snake! I assure you it is very fine. 
I cannot tell you that it forms a principal item 
of diet at my table, but I will say that when I 
am entertaining my friends — no, we did not 
have it to-night — I feel that I am giving them 
something of a treat when I serve snake stew. 
The particular variety that I like best is a non- 
poisonous fellow that costs from six to eight 
dollars, according to the state of the market. 
It seems rather extravagant when we dine alone, 
but when I invite friends — Canton friends — that 
is our piece de resistance," 



CHAPTEE III 

THE WIDOWS OF AH CUM 

;NE of the ancient Chinese customs is that 
a widow shall wear a skirt, blue, black or 
white, but a skirt of some kind, thus when 
a man is said to have married the wearer of a 
white skirt it is understood to mean that he has 
married a widow. Of course he loses cast by 
the ceremony, and so does the bride who has 
been the bride of another. The widow who mar- 
ries should go to the home of her prospective 
husband in an ordinary sedan carried by only 
two coolies, rather than in the beautiful red 
chair reserved for brides. There is no such 
thing as ** slipping away quietly and getting 
married" as in many other countries. In China 
every one is supposed to know everything that 
is commonly considered of a personal nature in 
Western countries. To close the front door or 
the front gate of one's home is an indication 
that something is going on inside, of which one 
should be ashamed. One is not only responsible 
to his family for his conduct, but also to the com- 



50 The Spell of China 

munity as well. When lie does anything so 
grave as to marry a widow, the bride has no 
right to attempt to conceal her widowhood in 
view of the life she is about to undertake, but 
if she follows the established customs, which are 
almost as important as laws, she must flaunt her 
shame in the face of the throng. Her husband 
must let it be known that he is marrying a white 
skirt. It is reported that when Chu Hsi was 
asked if it was improper for a penniless widow 
to marry again, he replied: "What you are 
afraid of for her is cold and starvation; but 
starvation is comparatively small matter and 
loss of reputation is a great one." The widow 
who does not marry again is respected, and 
arches of finely carved wood or stone have been 
erected in her honor in various parts of the 
country. She who consents to matrimony the 
second time is nevermore above suspicion, and 
the man who marries a ''white skirt" never 
again holds exactly the status that he main- 
tained before marriage. 

I was invited to the residence of three ''wear- 
ers of white skirts" and pleased beyond meas- 
ure to receive the invitation through their 
nephew, but surprised to find the trio dressed 
in black when they received me. But it was a 
rare privilege to enter a better class Chinese 



The Widows of Ah Cum 51 

house, be entertained and privileged to chat 
with its female occupants, and receive at least a 
hurried impression of the domestic circle in 
South China, if not actually within the walls of 
Canton, only a short boat ride on the river 
in the city of Ho-nam, which seems to be sepa- 
rated from Canton by the narrow river and 
for political rather than geographical rea- 
sons. 

The widows were still mourning the death of 
the arch polygamist. Ah Cum, who guided many 
foreigners around Canton during his lifetime 
and received ample ''credit" in several books 
of travels, not only for his excellent knowledge 
of English, but for wit and humor that im- 
pressed itself upon all the Europeans with 
whom he came in contact. But Ah Cum has 
been in his tomb these many years. His widows 
are ''faithful to his memory," declared the 
nephew, but they are not opposed to receiving 
foreigners in the foreign manner. Their late 
husband enjoyed the company of foreigners ; so 
why should they not see the people whom he had 
liked so well? And, in addition, the nephew 
had not paid them a visit for some time. Would 
I not like to go with him? He assured me that 
the youngest of the three was as beautiful as a 
lotus blossom sprinkled with morning dew, one 



52 The Spell of China 

of the ladies who made the stars of heaven re- 
joice when they saw her. 

So one day, shortly before noon, we set out to 
visit the widows of Ah Cum at Ho-nam. We 
left the hotel on Shameen Island in sedan chairs, 
and, after proceeding for some distance along 
the crowded river bank, we transferred to a 
strange old hulk of a boat, propelled by an old 
woman and two girls, who operated a sort of 
ferry between the two cities. 

The old captain-ess was very interesting, or 
at least she tried to be. When she was not try- 
ing to talk to us, she was hissing and shouting 
at the girls, who diligently dipped the big oar 
in the water, to make the passage as quick as 
possible. But the old lady was disappointed in 
her passengers, whom she had taken to be "dis- 
tinguished men." We were going to call on 
the widows and she thought better of us. Per- 
haps we were going to see the **king of the 
pirates." He also lives on Ho-nam, of which 
he is sort of a governor. 

**Velly much good man alia time," said the 
woman, as she endeavored to recount the virtues 
of the man who became rich by piracy. For 
several years he remained in exile, after his 
deeds became known, but he reformed and was 
pardoned. And because of his personal ac- 



The Widows of Ah Cum 53 

quaintance with all of the cut-throats of the dis- 
trict, his authority is respected and Ho-nam is 
said to be one of the safest districts of the 
vicinity. Of course her white passengers were 
going to call upon him, and, when the old lady 
learned differently, she spat in the water to 
show her disgust. Perhaps she rowed more 
vigorously than ever on account of her disgust, 
and she soon brought her boat to a string of log 
piles leading up to a big house, which resembled 
the entrance of a Venetian palace. The big 
pile of masonry had steps running down into the 
water, and when the old captain-ess pounded on 
them with a hollow bamboo pole the door opened 
and servants from the house rushed out to as- 
sist us in the landing. They said that we were 
expected, and quickly ushered us through sev- 
eral rooms with ceilings about twenty feet from 
the floor, finally arriving in a big hall, which 
seemed to be quite empty. Teakwood chairs 
and tables were shoved back against the walls, 
and there were a few red banners with big Chi- 
nese characters on the walls. Otherwise there 
were no furnishings, yet this was the principal 
room of the big mansion; the parlor or recep- 
tion room. 

As soon as we were seated, servants brought 
us tea, and as soon as this was poured the Mes- 



54 The Spell of China 

dames Ah Cum put in an appearance, each hob- 
bling across the floor as if she were on stilts. 
All three had ''lily feet," and the youngest had 
the smallest feet that I ever saw in China. Her 
tiny slippers were not quite three inches long 
and not more than an inch wide. 

It seemed a marvel that she was able to walk 
at all, yet, before I left, she hobbled into the 
garden with me to show me her azaleas, and kept 
her balance, even when crossing the stepping 
stones near a pond. 

A guess would put the respective ages of the 
widows at sixty, forty and twenty. The young- 
est, it was explained to us, had barely left the 
altar before her husband, who had had thirteen 
wives before her, left this world, presumably for 
a better one. Strangely enough, the old man 
was survived by his first and last wives and by 
one who was probably about number seven or 
eight. 

"She is very kind to the young wife," ex- 
plained the nephew of Ah Cum, who pointed to 
the eldest widow. **My uncle left the greater 
part of his fortune to the first wife, but she keeps 
the others here in the house with her and all of 
Ah Cum's children." 

It seemed quite cozy. Three widows of a 
man living together, being mother to one anoth- 



The Widows of Ah Cum 55 

er's children and to the deceased wives' chil- 
dren by their beloved departed husband! One 
by one, the children were brought in and intro- 
duced. They ranged all the way from two years 
to twenty-five years. Then came their teacher 
who spoke English. Altogether, we quite filled 
the big room, leaving space only for the serv- 
ants who took their places and violently fanned 
the company with big feather fans. The wid- 
ows were great smokers, all puffing excitedly as 
they chatted with us about such vital things as 
the weather, how many children we had in Amer- 
ica and our ages. I also observed that they fre- 
quently spat on the tile floor, scuffed the spot 
with their tiny feet and had not the slightest 
idea that this was not strictly in accordance with 
the European manner. Even with their mani- 
fest desire to be *' modern" and "foreign," no- 
body had hinted to them that it is not customary 
for ladies to spit on the floors of their drawing- 
rooms when they are entertaining guests, or at 
any other time. 

**0f course she will marry again," I said to 
the nephew, indicating one of the most attractive 
young widows I have ever seen. 

But my question caused him to smile, as if it 
was too absurd to require an answer. ''Cer- 
tainly not," he replied at length; ''my aunt is 



56 The Spell of China 

from a very good family. She could not marry 
beneath her station, or her family's station in 
life, and no Chinese gentleman of her caste 
would think of marrying a widow. It would be 
disgraceful, you see. So, under the circum- 
stances, she must always remain a widow." 

And the cute little girl smiled, because she 
knew that we were talking about her. She 
seemed to be quite contented with her lot, and 
we saw no reason why we should waste sym- 
pathy. 

''I wish I could go to America," said the 
nephew. *'I would like to go for five years, 
make much money and then come back to my 
wife and children." 

''Then you would not take your wife with 
you?" 

''Certainly not. I would send her a letter 
now and then, and that would do just as well. 
You see, we do not care much for our wives in 
China, if we have only one; and they do not 
care much for us. Take my case. My wife was 
selected for me by my uncle, Ah Cum, because 
my father and mother were dead. I had never 
seen her before our marriage but once, and then 
only a moment — just a glance. So you see that 
we cannot have the love for one another that 
American people have. Do you understand? 



The Widows of Ah Cum 57 

What a Chinese wants is children. I have five 
of them and I am only thirty-two years of age. 
Perhaps I shall take no more wives ; I have not 
decided, and then, perhaps, I should not try to 
afford it." 

The little servant girls, who were perhaps ten 
or twelve years of age, kept up such a violent 
fanning that our attention was attracted to 
them. They were not dressed like the other 
children of the household, so I inquired who 
they were. 

''The children of family slaves," said the 
nephew. "They will be taken care of by our 
family and may always live with us. Perhaps 
they will marry children of other slaves; we 
may arrange that. ' ' 

*'Is it possible for them to marry above their 
class?" 

"Possible, yes, if we gave them their free- 
dom; but that is not likely, so they will prob- 
ably remain here always. They are better off. ' ' 

"How is America getting on in her war with 
Mexico?" asked the eldest widow, her question 
being interpreted by her nephew. For a mo- 
ment it was impossible to determine if there was 
a slight tinge of sarcasm in the inquiry, or 
whether it was the first question which she had 
thought to be appropriate to a renewal of the 



58 The Spell of China 

conversation that seemed to be drawing to a 
conclusion. Probably I hesitated for an an- 
swer. It is difficult to obtain news in South 
China, at least it is difficult for the foreigner 
who has no access to official despatches from 
foreign countries. 

* ' My aunt is trying to show you that she keeps 
well informed in the atfairs of the world," ex- 
plained the nephew, and although I gave an opti- 
mistic reply to her question, I doubt if she re- 
ceived a correct interpretation, as she and her 
nephew engaged in a lively debate upon the 
''Mexican situation," the elderly woman main- 
taining that Mexico must be in the wrong. Ap- 
parently she did not have a very clear under- 
standing of what had caused the *'war," but 
she knew that Mexico must be wrong and that 
America must be right. She had often heard 
her late husband speak, of the Americans whom 
he had piloted around the streets of Canton, and 
he had admired them so much that she was cer- 
tain they could do no wrong. The Mexicans 
she did not know; she did not recall that she 
had heard her husband speak of them. What 
kind of people were they? Barbarians? It 
must be that they did not travel to China. 
Within memory, none of them had come to see 
the wonders of Canton; or, if they came, they 



The Widows of Ah Cum 59 

did not employ her worshiped husband as guide. 
The teacups were filled and drained many 
times, tiny rice-cakes were served, and, at 
length, small cubes of bananas into which ordi- 
nary tooth-picks were placed to serve as a con- 
venience in picking them up — in a household 
where there were no forks, and where hostesses 
desired to spare their guest the embarrassment 
of endeavoring to manipulate chopsticks. More 
tea was served as topics of conversation of mu- 
tual interest were taken up and quickly ex- 
hausted ; and we were about ready to leave when 
it occurred to the youngest wife that as we had 
arrived by the canal or back-door route, we 
might like to go through the house and look at 
the street. The front door was swung into the 
narrow thoroughfare at the suggestion, and 
three widows, the twenty or thirty children, the 
majority of which were their own, but some of 
which were the children of the late wives of the 
late Ah Cum, and the two guests filed through 
the portal to the pavement, from which the 
front of the house could be inspected. Once ar- 
rived there, the group attracted considerable 
attention from passersby, many of whom put 
down the baskets they were carrying, apparently 
returning from market, and the youngest widow 
chatted noisily about the architectural wonders 



60 The Spel l of China 

of the street, her words being interpreted briefly 
by her nephew. I saw many window shutters 
and lattices being thrown back in the neighbor- 
ing houses, and although most of them had bam- 
boo curtains or slats, I could see dozens of eyes 
peering at us from darkened interiors. Still, 
the little widow chatted. Perhaps we would 
like to walk down the street for a short distance. 
Would I not like to see some of the front doors 
of a Ho-nam street, as well as the back doors! 
I nodded, and immediately we started, the three 
hobbling widows with the ' ' lily feet, ' ' carefully 
finding their way along the uneven pavement in 
advance of what soon formed itself into a small 
procession of men, women and children. Here 
lived the wealthy Mr. So-and-So. There was 
the residence of Mr. Somebody Else. Had I 
never heard of them? The girl widow was sur- 
prised ; she thought they were known to all the 
world. Did I not think that Ho-nam was a 
beautiful place? Would I not rather have a 
home there than in Canton? Where in all the 
world would one rather make a home for him- 
self? 

Perhaps I do the little lady, one of my kind 
hostesses, an injustice ; nevertheless, I suspected 
that she was very human that day. I suspected 
that she w^? forgetting some of the tr^^itiona-J 



The Widows of Ah Cum 61 

restrictions that compel women to remain silent 
within the walls of their own home. It was a 
girlish prank, no doubt, but it was what in Amer- 
ica is called ** showing off to the neighbors." 
It is a rare thing for Chinese women to receive 
foreign men in their own home. Ah Cum's 
widows, being very ''progressive," were not 
afraid to do sol and the youngest of the trio 
seemed to take delight in making sure that no 
neighbor should doubt the truth of the story 
that would be repeated from house to house dur- 
ing the next few days. Fearing that some one 
might be overlooked, the young lady talked in a 
louder voice than when we were indoors, thus 
demonstrating her skill at entertaining a white 
man. Perhaps a gossiping neighbor said that 
it was all scandalous ; perhaps they wished that 
they enjoyed similar freedom of action. I shall 
never know; but I do know that the little lady 
wanted to keep my visit a secret from nobody 
on the street. I think that she had ideas of her 
own. She was a widow, she was properly 
chaperoned by two other widows of the same 
man; why should she not receive whom she 
pleased? 

A bright little youngster of six or seven years, 
observing that I was paying more attention to 
the youngest widow than to the others, came up 



62 The Spell of China 

to me, caught hold of my hand, and said in cor- 
rect English as proudly as if the lady had been 
Empress of China: ''That lady is my 
mother ! ' ' 

''And are the other two ladies your moth- 
ers?'* I askedj indicating the older widows. 

"Certainly not ! A boy has only one mother, 
this lady is mine." 

"And all of these little boys and girls, are 
they your brothers and sisters 1 ' ' 

"No, sir, I have no brothers and sisters. 
They all belong to the others. ' ' 

"Yet your father was Ah Cum?" 

"Yes, sir." 

' ' And their father was Ah C um r ' 

"Yes, sir, that's it." 

"Where did you learn to speak English?" 

"Otr teacher was in Manila and learned Eng- 
lish there. He teaches us to speak correctly." 

"I speak English, mister," echoed a half- 
dozen young boys and girls as they gathered 
around us, the young widow continuing her 
spirited address on the beauties of Ho-nam, 
which seemed relative to the stranger in this 
part of the world. 

At length, when it seemed that we had been 
thoroughly inspected by half of the inhabitants 
of the street, we went back to the house. The 



The Widows of Ah Cum 63 

doors were closed again, more tea and more 
banana cubes were served and Ah Cum's 
nephew and I made our departure tbrougli the 
back door, where the sampan and the veteran 
captain-ess were awaiting us. As the boat was 
poled away from the stone steps, we looked back 
and three widows, aged respectively sixty, forty 
and twenty, stood on the narrow balcony, vigor- 
ously puffing their pipes and watching us make 
a safe start for the island of Shameen ! 



CHAPTER IV 



THE CELESTIAL KIVIERA 



^HE trip to Macao, and Macao itself, form 
a pleasant interlude in the early part of 
the China tour that should not be over- 
looked by any foreign traveler. The Portu- 
guese city in the Far East is usually called ' ' The 
Monte Carlo of the Orient," and the appella- 
tion is apt for several reasons. Here are some 
of the notorious gambling establishments of the 
world, but, in addition, there is a beautiful bay, 
the city is perched on a hillside and contains 
many sub-tropical gardens, splendid drives 
along the water-front, shady walks in parks, 
where flowers bloom in profusion, and a row of 
palatial dwellings, some of which belong to the 
officials, and some to the men who have pros- 
pered elsewhere and for several reasons have 
selected the beautiful city for a home during 
certain months of the year — others that may be 
traced directly to the pernicious traffic of one 
kind or another that prospers here as in few 
places on earth. Few geographical compari- 

64 





ui^ ^^M 


■ 




I'fv 


1 


^^^'"'"^---^ 


S^H 


1 


' \ 


^irwiili^S 


^M 


1 — — 


m 


^^^^H 
"^^^^B 


5 


B^^B 




^ 




jH 



The Celestial Riviera 65 

sons have been so well made. Macao seems to 
be the Mediterranean paradise transferred to 
the west banks of the estuary of the Canton 
Eiver. It is easily reached by daily steamboat 
service from either Hongkong or Canton, a 
night's ride from the latter and a pleasant aft- 
ernoon's cruise from the former, among ver- 
dant islands, along rocky shores, and frequently 
passing the strange ships and smaller fishing 
craft that make Macao a home port. 

Immediately we went ashore, we admitted all 
of this favorable comparison to the winter re- 
sorts of the French or Italian Eiviera ; but there 
was much in addition. There was the unmis- 
takable oriental atmosphere about the place that 
any European city lacks. The streets seemed 
to swarm with Chinese, who form a large ma- 
jority of the eighty thousand population that 
dwells upon this three-mile tongue of land that 
reaches toward the sea from the island of 
Heung-Shan, but here we saw more priests, nuns 
and clergymen than we had observed elsewhere 
in the Far East. We heard Christian convent 
and church bells chiming at almost every hour 
of the day or night. It would have been pos- 
sible to imagine that it was not China at all, but 
southern Italy, if the faces of the majority of 
the population had not been Mongolian. 



66 The Spell of China 

''At last we have come upon a Christian com- 
munity in this far-off corner of the world," I 
cornmented, but my traveling companions 
laughed. They had been in Macao before. 

After twenty-four hours in the beautiful city 
I am afraid that I was willing to admit that it 
was one of the most vicious and most contempt- 
ible cities I had ever visited. There was still 
no doubt that it was making a splendid outward 
pretention to being a Christian community, 
Portuguese missionaries and laymen are always 
zealous in that direction: but it is also as true 
that Macao is doing more to corrupt the yellow 
man, encourage his natural and inherited vices 
and hinder his progress toward the light than 
any other single force. In many ways it seems 
a libel on Western civilization. That it has not 
been more roundly condemned and denounced 
to the Western world is doubtless accounted for 
by the fact that it is too far away. Compara- 
tively few people know or care. 

For many years the world has recognized 
opium as the worst enemy of the yellow man. 
It took the world a long time to recognize this 
fact and do something for humanity by attempt- 
ing to forget its worldly greed and diminish the 
supply to users. Even Christian England was 
unwilling to give up the profitable trade from 



The Celestial Riviera 67 

India. But, despite these handicaps, opium- 
smoking has been very well checked throughout 
China. At least, it is checked compared to 
former conditions. The habit has not been en- 
tirely eliminated, that every one knows would 
be an impossibility ; but it has received a heavy 
blow and is staggering for breath. Practically 
all of the nations of the world, including old 
China herself, have said that the young men of 
the East shall not fall under the pernicious in- 
fluence of the deadly drug. We have heard 
much of these things. We have had encourag- 
ing reports from the missionaries and states- 
men. The Chinese may have substituted other 
vices, but they did not go so far toward the cor- 
ruption of a nation. Probably most of us be- 
lieve that there was a comparatively small 
amount of opium left in the world ; from some 
of the reports that have reached us we might 
have come to the conclusion that it was only 
used for medicinal purposes, and then in small 
quantities. 

But Macao is Portuguese territory, lying at 
the heart of the greatest nation of opium smok- 
ers in the world. When I arrived in its beauti- 
ful streets that first morning I asked a local 
guide to take me to the ^'principal sights." 

** First, we will go the opium factory," he 



The Spell of China 



said; "it is the largest in the world." And, in- 
side of ten minutes, I saw more opium in the 
process of manufacture than the Western world 
believes exists in all the world. Here was a 
great institution, employing hundreds of men, 
women, boys and girls. It was like entering a 
great weaving establishment at Osaka, or a steel 
mill at Moji. 

A row of perhaps one hundred great brass 
caldrons were ** cooking" the stuff, each caldron 
said to contain something like two thousand dol- 
lars ' worth of the drug. This was a figure that 
we could easily believe, when we were shown 
tiny packets that retail at seven dollars each, 
and boxes that could be slipped into the ordinary 
vest pocket that fetch thirty-two dollars in the 
market. 

And is there still a market for opium? The 
fact that the factory pays the Portuguese pro- 
vincial government the sum of $1,560,000 each 
year in revenue for the privilege of manufac- 
ture, should show something of its enormous 
output. It is smuggled into China by the whole- 
sale, and it is smuggled around the world in 
smaller quantities. I had pointed out to me 
palatial residences with gorgeous gardens, in 
which dwell the men who have become fabulously 
rich from the forbidden traffic, and who are still 



The Celestial Riviera 69 

drawing an income from it that reach the fig- 
ures of Standard Oil magnates' earnings. 

It is this great industry of Macao which helps 
to maintain such a splendid Portuguese colony 
with its terraced avenues and stately gardens, 
public and private. There is even a stone em- 
bankment and paved thoroughfare along an ex- 
tensive seafront that would compare favorably 
with that of any European city. For once, 
something belonging to Portugal seems to be 
prosperous ! But when one thinks of the fright- 
ful havoc caused by the trade that makes it pos- 
sible, the surpassing beauty seems almost un- 
beautiful. Some of the devices for getting 
opium into forbidden territory are quite re- 
markable. There are said to be men who make 
a regular business of traveling between Macao 
and the regular points of distribution. They 
might be suspected, so they employ agents who 
carry the stuff with them in their shoes, con- 
cealed about their clothing, and in hand-bags, 
where it escapes the eyes of the authorities. 
One man in Canton, who rather boasted of the 
fact that he was a confirmed smoker, told me 
that his opium always came to him packed in 
Mennen's Talcum boxes, which looked so inno- 
cent to custom authorities that they were regu- 
larly passed as ** merchandise/' He asked me 



70 The Spell of China 

if I did not think that it was a clever idea of the 
agent, who supplied him regularly. 

It seems probable that opium was introduced 
into China in the Thirteenth Century by the 
Arabs, who brought it as a commodity of trade 
from their own country and from Persia. It 
seems to have gained a quick foothold, and 
opium-smoking soon became a favorite pastime 
of all classes. There are scientists who declare 
that it may be indulged in with no more dis- 
astrous results than follow excessive tobacco 
smoking; but the weight of evidence is against 
these scientists. Opium, as much as anything 
else, has retarded the progress of China and has 
made millions of her people less able to cope 
with the struggle for existence that seems to be 
the chief obstacle in the march toward Western 
standards of living. Even before the so-called 
Western invasion, however, when China was a 
hermit nation and cared for little beyond her 
own boundaries, a Chinese emperor realized the 
effect of opium-smoking upon his subjects and 
threatened severe penalties for all who engaged 
in the practice. The matter came to such ex- 
tremes in the Eighteenth Century that the smok- 
ing of opium was punishable by death. But 
the trade continued to increase. Means were 
found by white men to bring the profitable drug 



The Celestial Riviera 71 

into Chinese ports. At one time, over two cen- 
turies ago, the traffic was chiefly in the hands of 
the Portuguese, but in 1773 they brought only 
two hundred chests containing it to the China 
coast. When the British East India company 
took a hand in the trade, the number of chests 
increased to four thousand and fifty-four in 
1790, and again, in 1820, the figure had risen to 
oyer sixteen thousand chests. 

England, as usual, maintained the right of her 
subjects to trade even in such a questionable 
material as opium. It was one of the chief ex- 
ports of India. What would become of vast 
numbers of her colonial subjects if the opium 
trade with China were cut off? But the Chinese 
officials were as stubborn and declined to recede 
from the avowed determination to stamp out the 
national vice by removing the drug from the 
country. There were several historical and sen- 
sational events as a consequence, as when the 
Chinese Commissioner Lin superintended the 
confiscation of British opium valued at ten mil- 
lion dollars. It was thrown into the sea, having 
been mixed with lime and salt. Commands were 
given that no Chinese should attempt to obtain 
the smallest particles of it, and it is recorded 
that one man who found a small quantity on the 
shore and attempted to save it for himself, was 



72 The SpeU of China 

promptly beheaded. But British sailors con- 
tinued to smuggle opium into the country and 
events finally led to a war, which was ended by 
the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. 

In 1906 another imperial edict placed opium 
smoking under the ban, because the practice in- 
creased with the passing of the years ; not only 
men, but also women being addicted. A bride, 
on her wedding day, was proud to exhibit her 
opium pipe, as she was carried to her future 
husband's house in the grand procession that 
is supposed to be the principal event in a Chi- 
nese girl's life. It was considered the proper 
thing in society to offer opium to one's guests. 
Under official ban, the habit had persisted until 
it was sapping the vitality from the nation. A 
prohibition ban by the President in 1913 made it 
less public, but nobody who knows China doubts 
that the curse remains, and that Chinese of all 
classes are confirmed opium-smokers in private. 
Smoking apparatus and large quantities of 
opium have been burned in public places by the 
authorities, but these spectacular demonstra- 
tions have little effect. The average Chinese 
knows well enough that the officials who preside 
at the destruction of confiscated pipes are likely 
as not secret smokers. It is the consensus of 
opinion that not only the best, but practically 



't §/M 


i 


^11^ 


^ ^ M 


1 ] 


plII 


'■ lij^^lm r 


jbbb|oUh~^^^^ 




^^^ 




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— 



OPir.^I SMOKIXG 



The Celestial Riviera 73 

the only way to remove the curse from China, is 
to make it impossible for the Chinese to pro- 
cure the drug in any quantity whatever; but 
while ''heathen China" attempts the prohibi- 
tion, the ''Christian" nations continue to make 
the task almost impossible of accomplish- 
ment. 

And the Portuguese do not stop at opium 
manufacture and smuggling. Next to smoking 
the drug, they know that the most popular of all 
Chinese vices is gambling, so they cater to that 
too. The unwieldy government at Peking has 
made it rather difficult for the people to engage 
in the pastime on Chinese soil, but Portugal 
comes to the rescue. Macao is known as "The 
Monte Carlo of the Orient." This is the proud 
boast of its citizens, but the criticism of the 
world leveled at Monte Carlo and its operators 
is more deserved by Macao. 

Some of the principal streets of the city seem 
to be practically given over to gambling halls of 
various kinds, in which the games continue for 
twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. 
Some of them are luxuriously appointed, where 
the wealthy folk fritter away their time and 
money. But one feels little sympathy for them. 
Usually, they know perfectly well what they are 
doing and they can afford to play. In a country 



74 The Spell of China 

that is so old that it has outgrown a desire to 
indulge in almost all of the pleasures of life, 
gambling comes as a real recreation. One feels 
little sympathy for them, for many Chinese are 
extremely rich. They want to be entertained, 
and as they sit at the fan-tan tables, tossing 
thousands of dollars into the basket, one feels 
almost that it is putting money into circulation 
that might otherwise be in banks, or accumu- 
lating dust, rust and ten per cent, interest from 
the pockets of the poor. Around the tables one 
sees the staring eyes of men and women, as at 
Monte Carlo. They sit and watch the men poke 
little brass coins with a stick, as if Judgment 
Day had dawned and they were about to receive 
the final verdict. All there is to the game: 
a man throws a heap of the coins into the center 
of the table and covers them with a cylinder, so 
that they may not be counted by on-lookers. 
People bet on one, two, three, or four, the four 
sides of a square in the center of the table. 
Amounts sometimes go staggeringly high. 
Then the cylinder is removed, the coins are 
counted out in fours. One, two, three, or four 
remain at the final count, and the lucky number 
wins, while the ** house" takes a percentage of 
all bets. It seems simple enough, but I have 
never seen men more excited at the roulette 



The Celestial Riviera 75 

wheel, at faro, or at any other gambling device. 
And the women, too ! Chinese women patronize 
Macao establishments in large numbers. I saw 
a little lady enter a saloon alone, remove her 
outer wraps, give them to an attendant and take 
her place at the table, apparently for all day. 
In a short time she had been lucky enough to 
accumulate a good pile of coins. Probably she 
was in luck that day; the next, she might lose 
it all again. 

Servants flutter around these gaming halls 
and bring choice fruit, cigars and cigarettes to 
all comers. One may go into the game for ten 
cents, and while sitting at the table, within three 
minutes, two dollars' worth of food and smoking 
materials, as well as beverages, will be placed 
before him. It is not in the way of the pro- 
prietors of these places to let any one feel 
slighted, at least no opportunity will be given 
for one to escape while he still has a dollar 
remaining in his pockets. 

I remarked to the guide that I wanted some 
bird nest soup, shark fins and other Chinese deli- 
cacies to eat. He said: ''Let's go to a fine 
gambling house. You take your place at the 
table. Do you happen to have plenty of bills 
in your purse? If so, make a show of them, 
while pretending to make change. Bet ten or 



76 The SpeU of China 

twenty cents and then watcli the game. The 
men in charge will have observed your fat purse. 
I'll tell them what you want to eat, when they 
ask me; and in that way you can get the best 
food in China for nothing, if you want to do it. 
It's a rather clever scheme for getting even, 
don't you think so?" 

But the real evil of the gambling of Macao 
is the opportunity it offers to the man of limited 
means to go to the tables and spend his earn- 
ings. It is in the Chinese blood to desire to 
gamble on everything. The average Chinaman, 
like Lloyd's, will place a bet on everything and 
anything. You think it will be a pleasant day 
to-morrow; the Chinaman thinks otherwise for 
the sake of putting up whatever money he has 
in his purse. He usually works very hard for 
a little money, but as soon as he has it, he wants 
to gamble. The tables at Macao invite him. I 
saw several of these men, not of the coolie class, 
but apparently shop-keepers or clerks, rush to 
the tables, throw down the profits of the last 
sale, and attempt to win. Usually they lose, 
but I saw one young fellow, who rushed into the 
place excitedly, winning time after time. When 
I left, he was still there and perhaps he had a 
hundred dollars, made from a pittance at the 
beginning. It is this that lures them on. They 



The Celestial Riviera 77 

know the chance and they see the others win- 
ning. They risk everything, and, of course, 
there are many tragedies. The difference, how- 
ever, is that a Chinaman goes out with the same 
expressionless face that he wore when he came 
in, excepting for the staring eyes. One is un- 
able to tell from a celestial gambler's face, 
whether he has won or lost. 

Some of the means for gambling devised for 
the Chinese are too oriental to have originated 
with the Portuguese and must have come from 
the Chinese themselves. For example, the 
butcher will hang a fine piece of meat in front 
of his stall throughout the day, drawing cus- 
tomers to his shop by announcing that for a 
penny one may guess the weight of the meat 
which will go to the winner at the end of the day. 
Other merchants lure the crowd by receiving 
guesses on what the weather will be to-morrow, 
the next harvest, the depth of water in the canal 
on a certain day, the first appearance of the 
fruit tree blossoms, the color of a flower from an 
exhibited bulb. A few cash are deposited for 
the privilege of gambling, and, of course, toward 
building up the bank account of the merchant; 
but the Chinese does not think of that. His con- 
cern is the prize that goes to the winner. A 
popular game is known as the Thirty-Six Beasts. 



78 The Spell of China 

The names of that number of animals are placed 
on counters and shuffled. In the morning one 
counter is removed from the pack and placed in 
a paper sack, which is drawn to the top of a 
pole. All day long the gamblers wager on the 
name of the animal inclosed in the bag, and 
sometimes large amounts of money have 
changed hands and excitement has run high 
over the ' * animal 's name. ' ' The banker retains 
the bets placed on six animals as his share of the 
proceeds, and the winner's stake is multiplied 
by thirty, as a grand prize. Abbe Hue relates 
that he saw Chinese gamble until they were 
obliged to stake the clothing they were wearing. 
He saw men who were obliged to keep in motion 
to keep warm, because necessary covering had 
gone to pay gambling debts. He even saw men 
staking their own fingers and chopping them off 
to pay the winners. 

The Portuguese have been in Macao so long 
that there is mixture with the Chinese race as 
perhaps nowhere else in the world, and the 
stranger has great difficulty in distinguishing 
the half-castes who are numerous. My guide, 
for example, seemed as Chinese as any laundry- 
man who ever wielded a flat iron, but his name 
was Francesco Xavier. He spoke English and 
Chinese fluently, and when I asked him if he also 



The Celestial Riviera 79 

spoke Portuguese, he repHed, *' Certainly, that 
is my native language." 

Chinese have the reputation of being ''good 
husbands" and they are married to many 
foreign women who reside here. Vice versa, 
there are many foreign men married to "na- 
tive" women. Many of the older families of 
the city have been here so long that they call 
themselves "Macaoese" instead of Portuguese; 
because if they retain the pure occidental blood, 
it is likely that some of their children will not 
do so. I was told, when I asked the question, 
that not more than ten or twelve pure blood 
Portuguese families reside in the colony, in ad- 
dition to the officials, some of whom remain only 
a short time and then go to other colonies or 
return to the mother country. 

Before there was serious thought of occupy- 
ing the territory, Portuguese sailors knew 
Macao as a haven of refuge for themselves, 
their ships and cargo. In fact, it was first 
known as an excellent place for the drying of 
wet cargo, but in 1557 they were permitted to 
build factories on the strip of land, after the 
payment of twenty thousand Taels. Until the 
cession of Hongkong to Great Britain, Macao 
was the only open port in China, but it soon 
began to decline after the rise of Hongkong, 



80 The Spell of China 

similar to the shifting of trade from Amalfi to 
Venice in Italy, and, like Venice in her day of 
grandeur, Hongkong is now of far greater im- 
portance than the older colony. In 1887 the 
Chinese government consented to recognize 
Macao as a Portuguese possession in return for 
the aid of Portuguese officials in suppressing the 
trade in opium smuggling. As far back as the 
Sixteenth Century the Jesuit missionaries were 
active in the district, and in 1560 Gregory XIII 
constituted the Bishopric of Macao, The large 
church of St. Paul was destroyed by fire early 
in the last century, but its ruins, surmounting 
a hill approached by wide stone steps, are still 
one of the routine ''sights," and modern 
Macao delights in the belief that the church is 
to be rebuilt. 

After a pleasant ride along the sea front 
boulevard, shaded by ancient banyan trees, one 
comes to an attractive garden in which is what 
is known as *'Camoens' Grotto." Great gran- 
ite boulders have been left in their natural 
state, but there are pretty flower-bordered 
walks, ornamental shrubs and many shady 
nooks in which rustic benches beckon to the 
pedestrian unused to rather vigorous hill climb- 
ing. In one of these retreats is a bronze bust 
of the celebrated Portuguese poet, Luiz de 



The Celestial Riviera 81 

Camoens, and beneath it are carved in the rocks 
selections from his immortal epic, the ''Lu- 
siad/' which relates the valorous deeds in arms 
of the Portuguese in Asia and Europe. Lopa 
de Vega, the world's most prolific playwright, 
has written of Camoens: ''Strange fortune 
that to so much wit and learning gave a life of 
poverty and a rich sepulcher." 

It seems likely that seven cantos of the great 
Portuguese national epic were composed while 
the poet was in Macao, other portions belong- 
ing to the period of his lengthy exile in Centa, 
Mozambique, Goa and other places. Tradition 
says that he sat among the rocks of this garden, 
overlooking the roofs of Macao, and that much 
of the "Lusiad" was written on the exact spot 
that now supports his effigy. At any rate, it 
was in the vicinity that the luckless poet of an 
ungrateful country glorified his nation's accom- 
plishments, and Macao is not behind the mother 
country in paying him honors to-day. 

I was invited to spend my last hour in Macao 
in the garden of one of the wealthy men of 
China, who finds it convenient to live in foreign 
territory. His house is one that would be a 
show place at Newport. His garden covers 
perhaps ten acres, and is given over to ponds, 
bridges, lotus beds, a rare collection of azaleas 



82 The Spell of China 

so trained as to resemble mandarins, and grot- 
toes of rocks over which piped water trickles 
as in a natural woodland. Nothing was more 
characteristic of the place, perhaps, than the 
remarks of the guide as we were strolling 
around the mosaic walks. 

''This man very rich. He has mines, and I 
imagine that he has interests in some of the 
gambling halls. He is very, very rich, as you 
see. The stones in this garden cost one hun- 
dred thousand dollars to bring them here, for 
this was all a barren hillside before he came. 
Think of it, so rich and he has only four wives. 
That big house and only four wives ! ' ' 

Francesco made a gesture of contempt. It 
seemed to be more Latin than Oriental. It was 
Macao. 



CHAPTER V 

**PAEIS OF THE FAR EAST" 

WEALTHY Chinese gentleman told a 
foreigner that he thought it would be ad- 
visable for his son to learn the English 
language, because he believed it would be much 
more necessary in the years to come than it is 
now, so he engaged an English tutor for him. 
**I could have sent him to Shanghai," he ex- 
plained, ''but I did not want his future life 
mined. Shanghai may be what the foreigners 
want it to be ; but it is not the place for a young 
Chinese." 

But this would not be the Occidental opinion. 
To the average Westerner, Shanghai is more 
attractive than Paris. The principal reason 
seems to be that Paris has the reputation, al- 
though it always seems a libel to call the French 
capital gay, for it is one of the most sedate 
and proper of all European capitals; while it 
would be just as much of a libel to call Shanghai 
anything else than gay. It is gay with a de- 
termined vengeance, and as cosmopolitan as 
Cairo. Throw Russians, French, Americans 



84 The Spell of China 

and English together, with a good sprinkling 
of Spain, Italy and Portugal, cast them in a 
city anywhere from three to five thousand miles 
from home, give them plenty of leisure and 
money, and it is quite safe to suspect that they 
will find means of amusing themselves. 

They do ! Never waste sympathy on the for- 
eigner who is ** obliged to live in Shanghai 
for business reasons.'* It is a certain guess 
that he is enjoying himself about ten times as 
much as he would at home. It is a hardship 
to be separated from old friends and relatives, 
but even this has its compensations. First of 
all, the man who comes to Shanghai to live finds 
what a distinction there is in being a white man. 
Others of his race have been here before him 
for a long time and they have paved the way. 
Here is the great cosmopolitan gateway to 
China. The nations of the Western world have 
been prowling around that gate like vultures 
for many years. Their various representatives 
of state and commerce saw to it that Shanghai 
should not be a dull place in which to spend 
their years of ** exile." The young genera- 
tion is clinging tenaciously to the traditions. 
Shanghai is really one of the great cities of 
the Chinese republic, but Chinese Shanghai is 
a shabby, narrow-streeted section of city, 



"Paris of the Far East" 85 

smelly, and a most unhealthful place in which 
to live. European Shanghai along the river 
front in many ways compares favorably to the 
banks of the Seine or Thames in Paris or Lon- 
don. View any prosperous American city from 
the water front and the buildings are of much 
the same sort as those which border the harbor 
along what is known as the Bund, which is 
ornamented with gardens, walks, drives and 
parks. Several of the consuls of the foreign 
governments have ofifices and residences that 
would compare favorably with American bank 
buildings. And this is China! One would 
barely suspect it but for the predominating ele- 
ment in the streets. 

But a dozen Chinamen will scoot when an 
American, Eussian, Frenchman or Englishman 
yells at them. And that seems to be the fashion. 
The Caucasian comes along the street where a 
group of Chinese are talking and blocking his 
path. It is China and these men are in their 
own country, but what does the white man do? 
Turn aside to pass them? Instead, he yells: 
' ' Get out of my way, you loafers, ' ' or stronger 
words, and the Chinese scatter. Perhaps they 
do not understand the words, but they know 
the tone of the speaker and what it means, so 
they do not need a second invitation. Verily, 



86 The Spell of China 

it is better to be white than yellow in Shanghai I 
An American resident took me for an automo- 
bile ride. Automobiles seem out of place in 
China ; the streets are too crowded with people. 
They were scampering to right and left as we 
smashed along through the crowded streets. 
The chauffeur was a young Chinese, who highly 
valued the honor of driving a white man's car. 
He did not seem to be a respecter of human life 
at any time, but we came to a street where there 
were so many people that they blocked the pave- 
ment from curb to curb, and a traffic policeman, 
standing in the center of the crowd, held up his 
arms and shouted for us to stop. 

*'Get out of our way, you old yellow fool, or 
we'll run you down," shouted the host. The 
Chink dropped his arms and stepped aside with 
the others. He understood English and was 
afraid that the American would do literally as 
he had threatened. 

Chinese are aggravating to the person driving 
a motor car, and they seem to be tempting fate 
as they stand still when they see a car approach- 
ing, dodging out of the way as few seconds as 
possible before the rubber tires actually brush 
them aside or run them down. I asked the 
editor of the Shanghai China Press about it and 
he explained: ''Like many other things Chi- 



"Paris of the Far East" 



nese, this may be traced to superstition. The 
average Chinese thinks he is pursued by many 
devils. He thinks the auto is the most powerful 
devil of all, so he likes to stand until the last 
minute, hop out of the way, and he believes the 
auto smashes the devils that are after him." 

''White folks," as they like to be known in 
Shanghai, run things as they please. Whether 
they do it well or ill depends upon the point of 
view. At any rate, they do it entertainingly. 
Practically all the large countries of the world 
have warships floating in the harbor with guns 
eternally turned menacingly toward shore. 
They are to ''protect foreign interests." This 
is diplomatic language perhaps, because they 
seem to say: "Do as we want you to do, or 
we'll blow you to atoms. Perhaps we quarrel 
among ourselves, but we are all agreed upon 
one thing, you must behave exactly as we tell 
you." 

The tourist may come direct to Shanghai from 
Hongkong, a two-days' trip by sea on the splen- 
did Empress steamers bound for Vancouver, 
after stopping at Japanese ports, or he may 
desire to know more of the native life in the 
early days of his tour and avail himself of the 
opportunity to visit such cities as Foo-chow, 
Swatow, or Amoy, in each of which there are 



The Spell of China 



temples and other sights of interest, modern 
hotel accommodations, and where one feels 
plunged into the filthy, opium and incensed air 
of China that has not changed so much in recent 
years as the coast centers more frequented by 
foreigners. The trip may be made by steamer, 
and at the landing stage one may step to a wait- 
ing rikisha or sedan chair and visit the princi- 
pal points of interest with barely so much as 
touching his foot to the ground — which may ap- 
pear to the new arrival to be desirable. Unless 
one has considerable leisure, however, and an 
overwhelming desire to see ''everything" in 
China, the side trips to the cities mentioned are 
not to be strongly recommended. 

Arrival at Shanghai seems doubly interesting 
by reason of the fact that after leaving the fine 
ocean liner, he is still thirteen miles from his 
destination. The steamer runs into the great 
yellow flood that sweeps down to the sea from 
Thibet, dividing China into halves, but it pro- 
ceeds only as far as the bar that is near the 
junction of the Whangpoo-Kiang and Yangtze- 
Kiang, drops anchor and swings around in the 
muddy current awaiting the tenders, upon which 
passengers and baggage are carried to Shang- 
hai. It is a fine ride up the river, the bosom of 
which seems dotted with the world's shipping. 



"Paris of the Far East" 89 

After many twists and turns, the city begins to 
loom in the distance, boats seem to be more 
numerous and before long one distinguishes the 
flags of many nations from the ships at anchor 
and from consulates and foreign concession 
buildings. Here is Shanghai, on the same par- 
allel as Cairo and New Orleans, but a nice cool 
breeze is blowing and it seems a relief after 
Hongkong. 

Shanghai seems so hidden away that one 
might anticipate trouble in finding it ; but there 
is no such trouble. Apparently, every one finds 
it. Most of the fashionable trippers from 
America and England "do China" from a hotel 
veranda at Shanghai. It is more expensive and 
gives one very little idea of what real China is 
like ; but as I heard one American debutante re- 
mark: **It seems to be the most fashionable 
place in the Far East." 

There is no doubt about it, Shanghai is fash- 
ionable. There are several fashionable hotels 
where it would be unpardonable to attempt to 
dine before eight or nine o 'clock in full evening 
regalia. There are large foreign orchestras in 
some of tliem. One restaurant that boasts of 
being the gayest in the city, has a choir of the 
''best Hawaiian singers who ever left the is- 
lands," aijd a cabaret entertainment that would 



90 The Spell of China 

be gay in Paris or New York. Here Mr. 
Foreign Consul or Mr. Foreign Representative 
of a Commercial House, or Mr. Officer of a War- 
ship promenades with a flashily gowned and 
be jeweled lady. Of course every one else sits 
along the rows of tables and gossips. But gos- 
sip means less in Shanghai than elsewhere. 
Nobody wants anybody else to become homesick 
or lonesome, so when any one is not actively en- 
gaged in gossip he tries to give every one else 
something to gossip about. So goes the world 
in Shanghai ! It is likely to be the biggest sur- 
prise of the whole China tour. It is not a place 
of Chinese sights, although it claims a popula- 
tion of a million Chinese, but rather it is gay 
Cosmopolis with a foreign population estimated 
at twenty thousand, about fifteen hundred of 
whom are Americans. There are several club- 
houses on the Bund and in the suburbs that 
would not be out of place in American cities. 
Society drives out past the Bubbling Well in 
the afternoon, as society drives in the Bois at 
the same hour in Paris. I saw a fine string of 
expensive automobiles going along a fashion- 
able drive about four o'clock in the afternoon. 
I stepped into a rikisha to go and see them pass. 
The white women were gowned as smartly as 
the women of Fifth Avenue, New York. They 



The " Mandarm's Tea House 




'«/ 



^Taris of the Far East^^ 91 

had Chinese chauffeurs, footmen, and some- 
times servants on the steps of the cars, all in 
natty oriental uniforms. I thought that per- 
haps the ladies of the diplomatic corps might be 
down from Peking for some celebration. 
Crowds of people were watching them pass, and 
I am sure that they attracted as much attention 
as if they had been ambassadors' wives. I en- 
quired and found that from four to six o'clock 
is the fashionable hour for the foreign demi- 
monde to take its airing. 

Verily, Shanghai is gay, and even the local 
guides feel certain that it is the gaiety that all 
Westerners enjoy. One of the craft smiled 
when I told him that I wanted to see the princi- 
pal ''sights" of the city. It was in the fore- 
noon and he assured me that there were few 
''sights" until the lights were turned on at 
night. "Are there no temples, pagodas or 
monuments?" I asked. 

"Oh, yes, there is the old Mandarin's Tea 
House, supposed to have been the original for 
the willow ware pattern which ornaments china- 
ware. There is the statue of old Li Hung- 
chang, and I believe that American school teach- 
ers go to the old city and see the bird market 
when they are in Shanghai. Of course, most 
people gave up looking at such things many 



92 The SpeU of China 

years ago. Say, are you fooling me, or are you 
a missionary r' 

He was hopeless, but he was more polite about 
it than guide Number two. When I told this 
worthy gentleman that I would like to see the 
Mandarin's tea garden, he seemed to enjoy the 
best laugh of his life and said : ' ' Quit your kid- 
ding," after which he explained, ''Americans 
don't give a whoop for the old tea house." 

Yes, I repeat that Shanghai is gay, and a 
part of this gaiety consists of turning night into 
day. ''Everything worth while" is running at 
top speed and full blaze at two or three o'clock 
in the morning. Clerks must have heavy eye- 
lids when they come to their desks at ten, for, if 
the truth must be told, there is much "society" 
here that is clerical. But there is a good rest 
at noon, business being practically suspended 
until two o'clock, and every one must be at his 
club, golf links or tennis court shortly after 
four. Business hours are short in Shanghai, 
and nights are long. The whole city seems to be 
afraid that somebody will become homesick or 
lonesome — or spend one hour of the twenty-four 
quietly. That would not be according to the 
proud boast of the "Paris of the Orient." 

One may not have noticed it until he reached 
Shanghai, but the rather amusing spectacle of 




w » » • 



9 



rjm 




CHINAMAN WITH BIED-CAGE 



*Taris of the Far East" 93 

men walking along the public highway, bird-cage 
at arm's length, will not longer escape the eye of 
the foreigner. Perhaps the first instance goes 
unnoticed ; the man may have purchased a bird 
and he may be taking it home as a pretty pres- 
ent for his wife. The second, third or fifth bird- 
carrier may not cause a remark, but the twen- 
tieth or fiftieth is likely to do so, and the real 
truth of the matter is too odd to occur to the 
tourist's mind. Sentimental people, these Chi- 
nese ; they are much attached to birds and flow- 
ers ! They squander huge sums of money on a 
dwarfed pine tree, the shape of which strikes 
their fancy. Rich men often count azaleas 
among their prized possessions, particularly 
when the branches have been trained into gro- 
tesque or fantastic shapes, held in place by wire 
frames or sticks, giving them the appearance of 
men, birds and animals. One takes it for 
granted that the little Chinese housewives also 
love birds and flowers ! 

But the Chinese who are carrying birds in the 
street have not purchased them for their women 
folks ! The smartly dressed young men of the 
cities, who promenade the streets bird-cage in 
hand, are not thoughtful of their wives, who 
have been selected for them by their parents. 
They would ''lose face" by carrying anything 



94 The Spell of China 

for such an insufficient reason as to bring light 
or sunshine into the lives of their companions 
at home. They carry birds because they are 
bird fanciers — or pretend to be. The more 
literal truth might be that it is fashionable as 
similar whims are ^' smart" in America, but 
because it was fashionable when their grand- 
father's father was a boy — and before. In an 
older day, however, one's favorite bird went 
for his airing perched on the forefinger of his 
master, still a favorite recreation for the older 
men of China. But the wooden and bamboo 
cages were attractive to the youth of China, and, 
in addition, the cages gave them the opportu- 
nity to promenade with birds that were not 
wholly domesticated, feathered creatures that 
were more beautiful than hawks, even brilliantly 
plumaged warblers that previously had been 
confined to the house, garden, or store. Nearly 
every Chinese shop or home, however small it 
may be, has room for at least one bird and some- 
times for several of them. Every garden has 
them suspended from the trees or bushes in 
bright cages or tied by a string or chain. 

In reality, the Chinese are great bird fanciers. 
The variety seems to be of little consequence; 
pigeons, hawks, pheasants, parrots, or canaries 
seem to be equally popular. The bird market 



"Paris of the Far East" 95 

is usually one of the interesting corners of every 
city of China, because one not only sees the 
great variety of feathered creatures, some of 
which are perched on ropes, hoops or bamboo 
hung from roof to roof across the narrow 
streets, but also comes into close contact with the 
vari-colored Chinese of all social classes, and 
observes them bargaining for birds that have 
struck their fancy. Here one hears a strange 
medley of voices, the bird language being as 
easily understood by the foreigner as the 
"bally-hoo" of the merchants who chant the 
merits of the creatures that are offered for sale 
at prices that seem to be ridiculously low to the 
American. While many Chinese youths may 
promenade the city streets, bird-cage in hand, 
making their choice of companion seem to be an 
affectation; one who goes far from the cities to 
the distant tombs, shrines and the surrounding 
parks with ponds and pretty gardens will come 
upon many pedestrians or holiday-makers who 
have brought their birds with them to enjoy the 
fresh air and the beauties of nature. 

The bird-market of Shanghai is in the filthy 
but interesting native city called Hu-tsen or Sen- 
tsen, surrounded by a wall about three miles in 
circumference, and in the narrow streets of the 
neighborhood one may spend several enjoyable 



96 The Spell of China 

hours. The *' Mandarin's Tea House" is close 
by, and so are many narrow lanes, in the shops 
of which splendid collections of Chinese jewelry, 
ivory, porcelain, carved chop sticks, idols, bro- 
cades and rare antiques of various kinds are 
offered for sale. Both the native and foreign 
parts of the city are fascinating places in which 
to shop. Jade, Chinese coats, linen and silk 
may be found in greater abundance elsewhere, 
but the quality of the merchandise in the 
Shanghai shops is not excelled in the other 
cities. 

The late dinners and drawing-rooms of the 
hotels, the foreign restaurants or ballrooms pat- 
ronized exclusively by the foreign residents and 
visitors, may make a strong appeal to the West- 
ern tourist and cause him to believe that Shang- 
hai copies much of its manners and customs 
from cosmopolitan Cairo or Port Said, but there 
is a much more interesting native night life, 
which, of course, one will not mention to foreign 
residents, because they are not supposed to look 
with favor upon an excursion that brings one el- 
bowing the Chinese crowd that fills the streets 
and surges into theaters, tea-houses, and baths, 
some of which are luxuriously furnished. And 
in addition to these older recreative institutions, 
around which there is always the bedlam caused 



'Taris of the Far East" 97 

by masses of chattering men, sing-song girls, 
musicians who vie with boiler-makers in the 
matter of tone production, dozens of cinema 
theaters have lately come into existence, and are 
so rapidly gaining in popularity that they seem 
likely to become the most popular institution 
that ever came out of the West. 

The Chinese are becoming infatuated with the 
motion picture exhibition to such an extent that 
they will gladly attend a performance, the pro- 
gram of which extends through four, five, or 
even six hours, which is quite in keeping with 
the time limit of native theatrical representa- 
tions. I saw a crowd quite overcome with joy 
at the vicissitudes that befell the heroine in the 
American-made film, "The Hazards of Helen.'* 
The thrilling scenes were greeted by outbursts 
of applause, many of the spectators rising to 
their feet and shouting lustily when the hero 
saved Helen and her baby by venturing onto the 
railroad bridge and jumping into the river with 
the two in his arms as the express train whizzed 
across the screen. 

Such a demonstration meant much more in 
China than it would mean in a Western coun- 
try. It is not ' ' good form, ' ' not even * ' proper, ' ' 
for a Chinese to betray his emotions; at least, 
he must not let them rise to the surface. He 



98 The Spell of China 

may applaud at the theater, but even while mak- 
ing this demonstration, which is not in accord- 
ance with ancient custom, he must not smile or 
laugh. The comedian may grimace ; gentlemen 
in the audience are not supposed to do so. The 
scene may be very thrilling and tense, but Chi- 
nese gentlemen should have better control of 
themselves than to show by any facial movement 
that they are excited. 

But Helen, assuredly very modem, as seen in 
the motion pictures, caused them to forget some 
of the things that they had been taught by their 
fathers. They not only betrayed the fact that 
they received the thrill, but they seemed to be 
delighted to do so and seemed to desire to let 
the hero know that they appreciated what they 
had done. When ^'close-up" portraits of the 
characters were shown, smirking and ''looking 
pleasant, ' ' which is so contrary to all the canons 
of Chinese theatric art, they stood up and waved 
their hands. When the express train was 
flashed on the screen, whizzing along at a mile 
a minute — in a country where trains seem like- 
lier to move a mile in ten minutes — they ap- 
plauded as we in America applaud when a fa- 
vorite star makes her *'big speech" in the third 
act. Certainly they enjoyed ''The Hazards of 
Helen." It was the first time that I saw a Chi- 



'Taris of the Far East" 99 

nese audience witnessing a film that was ''Made 
in America. " If I had never seen another Chi- 
nese audience beholding a "Made in America" 
film, I would have had the impression that the 
motion picture was more popular in China than 
in America. But I saw many of them. I saw 
audiences only mildly interested, and I saw some 
that were quite visibly bored, because they did 
not know what it was all about, and, not know- 
ing, they could not feel an interest any more 
than the popular American audience would feel 
for Greek tragedy or the sacred dances of Siam. 
At Chinese motion picture houses a lecturer fre- 
quently stands on the stage and explains the 
action, even in such stories of primitive situa- 
tions as ''The Hazards of Helen." 

"Now you see the little child going out on the 
railroad bridge," he says. "She is a thought- 
less infant, who does not know that death is 
lurking in her path. She is as happy as any 
innocent little child can be. She skips over the 
railway ties, having found a new amusement. 
But what will happen when the fast train comes 
thundering along the track? What will become 
of the child!" 

Oh, he is an eloquent extemporaneous speaker, 
this Chorus who explains the play ! He weaves 
much into his "explanation" that is prompted 



100 The Spell of China 

by the picture itself, much that never entered the 
mind of the scenario writer. 

''Helen sees the little girl," he continues; 
''What can she do? How can she save her?" 
(Helen is flashed on the screen gazing bridge- 
ward, with a sort of hunted-deer expression.) 
' ' Will she stand there and see the child run over 
by the train, or thrown into the river below? 
No, she does not think twice, but rushes out 
onto the bridge and snatches the child into her 
arms. But the cruel train is coming; see, it is 
coming around the mountain. It will plunge 
into the tunnel and then out onto the bridge." 
(Business of express train plunging into a tun- 
nel.) "The hero sees Helen and he, too, rushes 
out onto the bridge. Will he reach her and the 
child before the train comes 1 That is the great 
question. Seel He has reached them, but it 
is too late! In ten seconds the train will be 
upon them. There is no time to escape, so the 
hero takes both Helen and the child in his arms 
and jumps off the bridge into the river. Will 
he be strong enough to swim and reach the shore 
in safety with his precious load?" 

And so forth, the "lecturer" creates action, 
when he thinks the interest is flagging. During 
the scenes that make merely an "exposition" of 
the characters and plots he is obliged to keep 



"Paris of the Far East" 101 

up his story, or at least he does so. He invents 
enough plots and counterplots to provide an- 
other instalment of the serial. I was unable 
to learn the origin of these gentlemen, who seem 
so important to the movie in China, but they 
must have had much theatrical experience in 
their native country. They must have as ready 
knowledge of all the old plots as the average 
dramatist in America. Perhaps some of them 
have acted in Chinese plays, the plots of most 
of which are the same as the stereotyped plots 
in American drama. They remember, but the 
audience does not, apparently, because, as in 
America, it appears to enjoy the unraveling of 
the same old stories. It is the * 'lecturer" who 
makes the American motion picture intelligible 
to the oriental audience, at least the Chinese 
audience, which insists upon knowing something 
about what is transpiring. Chinese actors 
carry ** suggestion" so much further than the 
Americans would attempt to do their speeches 
are so absolutely inaudible, on account of the 
strumming and squawking of the various instru- 
ments of the orchestra, that people do not ex- 
pect to hear too much and have learned to trust 
to their eyes. Or perhaps they do not care to 
understand. In the course of a six-to-ten hour 
entertainment, which is not an uncommon length 



102 The SpeU of China 

of time for a Chinese play to run, they will hear 
enough to satisfy them and reward them for 
going to the theater. It is useless to permit 
one's self to become overwrought and excited 
about mere play acting. Life itself is much 
more comic, much more tragic ; and they do not 
become excited about life, seeming to value it 
very lightly, and not worrying about death. 

Their attitude toward the theater in China is 
very well expressed by a question asked of some 
Shanghai Chinese after they had witnessed the 
first game of tennis in that country, as played 
by Englishmen. *'Yes, it is all very well as a 
game," they said, **but why run around, hitting 
the little rubber balls when you can hire coolies 
to do it for you?" 

Charlie Chaplin has "invaded" the Orient 
and he is winning friends for the "American 
drama," where acting and singing companies 
have failed to do so. They told me of an Amer- 
ican comic opera company that visited Shanghai 
some time ago. My informant declared that the 
troupe gave creditable performances, but the 
Chinese ears were tortured by the singing. At 
first the audience calmly endured it, thinking 
that the agony would soon be over. Then they 
looked at one another absent-mindedly, and, 
finally, before the evening was over, most of the 



"Paris of the Far East" 103 

men had folded their coat sleeves over their 
mouths, so their laughter would not be audible. 
But they all have heard about the popularity of 
Chaplin in America, and for once in their lives 
Orient agrees with Occident. Chaplin is a great 
entertainer! The Chinese enjoy him, because 
his antics coincide exactly with their ideas of 
what comedy should be ; and think he is the fun- 
niest man who ever lived. It is amusing to at- 
tend a theater in China where a Chaplin exhibi- 
tion is in progress. When I first saw him in 
the country it was in a rather imposing theater 
and ''Our Best People" were said to be in at- 
tendance. The first glance at them, however, 
was rather shocking. Here was "full dress" 
with a vengeance; ''full dress" that quite put 
into the shade any similar effort at undress in 
the Metropolitan horseshow in New York. 
Many Chinese were stripped to the waist and 
wore either a pair of bathing trunks — ^the idea 
was borrowed from America — or the long, baggy 
Chinese trousers that are tied around the ankles 
with ribbons. As I looked out over the audience 
from the back of the house, the bathing trunks, 
trousers and ribbons were invisible. What I 
saw was an ocean of bare backs and shoulders. 
I took a seat among this strangely costumed mul- 
titude, and finally recovered sufficiently to note 



104 The SpeU of China 

that a Charlie Chaplin comedy was being shown. 
Bang! Something came down and hit him on 
the head. Zipp! He tripped his toe and fell 
headlong. The audience laughed as I had never 
seen Chinese laugh. There were few ladies 
present, because it is not yet considered quite 
the ** proper" thing for a Chinese matron or 
her daughters to attend a cinema exhibition, but 
I carefully observed the perspiring gentlemen 
close to me. They seemed to be having the time 
of their lives, sometimes laughing so violently 
that it seemed to pain them, doubtless because 
it pained them to realize that they were so far 
forgetting themselves. Whenever *'Our Char- 
lie" took a particularly heavy fall, or whenever 
something fell on his head, apparently causing 
him great suffering, the Chinese closed their 
eyes, sat back on their benches and laughed 
facially and inwardly. It was a typical July 
night and it was very warm. The perspiration 
flowed down their backs in streams as they lit- 
erally undulated with glee. 

But no better exhibition could be devised for 
the entertainment of the Chinese audience. He 
is supposed to have a ''heart," but the China- 
man derives much satisfaction when he sees an- 
other man suffering, particularly if there is a 
remote possibility that he deserves it. Let a 



*Taris of the Far East" 105 

villain strut upon the speaking stage, with those 
artificial strides so affected by native actors, 
and the Chinaman will literally shout with joy 
when he comes to his downfall. ''What is, is 
right," he argues, and if a man on the stage, or 
off the stage, comes to misfortune, it was des- 
tined so to be. Let a mason drop a heavy stone 
on his foot in the street, and almost instantly he 
will be surrounded by a giggling multitude that 
seems to gloat over his suffering. There is 
nothing funnier to the Chinese than to see some 
one in great difficulty endeavoring to extricate 
himself. For example, it is very funny when 
in the native drama a flirtatious mandarin is 
walking with a "sing-song" girl favorite and 
comes face to face with his wife. Or he may 
be chatting with the sweetheart of another man 
when approached by her lover. This is very 
funny ; but, after some time, the fun passes and 
then there is a "scene" which the Chinaman 
likes almost as well as the first grim joke. He 
likes the quarrel, the duel, the escape, the fight 
or the killing. It is action. 

In a country where every one dotes on a 
' ' sight, ' ' the drama must the lurid. Executions 
in real life are "well attended." Head-chop- 
pings were among the popular amusements of 
the week in that older day when sometimes 



106 The Spell of China 

twenty or thirty victims fell to the headman's 
knife in a single city. This was counted a gala 
event and the crowds remained until the heads 
were exposed on fence posts or poles at bridges 
and street corners, where they served as an ' ^ ex- 
ample" to passers-by. Missionaries have re- 
ported that they have seen small boys at these 
spectacles, tossing heads about in a game of 
''catch," as if they had been rubber or wooden 
balls. Head-choppings are rare nowadays and 
occur only in the far interior of the country. 
But men are still put in the stocks, and they are 
obliged to wear heavy wooden or metal collars 
that speak their guilt to all passers. They are 
hung up by the hands in iron cages placed on the 
street, and men so punished are always certain 
to "draw good houses." 

One day my Chinese "boy," age forty-six, 
one of his kind readily attaching himself to 
every traveler in the Celestial republic, serving 
as valet, interpreter and "guide," came to me 
and excitedly told me that a famous dramatic 
company would give several performances of 
centuries-old plays in a native theater of Shang- 
hai. 

"May be you no like, because plays very old," 
he said, while attempting to whet my appetite 
for the native drama, but he had so much to off- 



"Paris of the Far East" 107 

set any misgivings that I accompanied him, per- 
mitting him to believe that as he had arranged 
everything he would *'lose face" if I did not 
share his enthusiasm. When the curtain was 
raised — or parted, for the sliding curtain is an 
ancient Chinese device, although I had been led 
to believe in America that it was of compara- 
tively recent origin — ^we were seated in an or- 
chestra box. Hong Mai-fong delighted with the 
music, while I attempted to be deaf to the or- 
chestra and give my attention to the stage. 
And, almost immediately I had the theatrical 
surprise of my life. Misunderstanding my en- 
thusiasm. Hong continued to repeat: *'Play 
very old," which seemed to be his formula of 
apology for enticing me to this exhibition palace. 

''That man belong great emperor," he ex- 
plained; ''beautiful lady no belong his wife but 
belong wife other man. Other man come pity 
soon now. ' ' 

I made no reply, from which Hong took it that 
I was not interested. In reality, I was looking 
at a set of folding screens that formed the scenic 
background for the drama. Here was ' ' Gordon 
Craig's scenery!" And I found later that its 
speedy shifting schemes of presenting various 
ocular impressions to an audience and even its 
"suggestion" rather than fully developed dec- 



108 The Spell of China 

oration was much as the son of Ellen Terry has 
been urging Western nations to adopt! But 
Gordon Craig's meanderings are vague, tinged 
with precious theories, apparently not intended 
to be too well understood by hoi-polloi. With 
minor exceptions, however, usually in such tech- 
nical matters as the employment of calciums and 
other electrical contrivances, it seemed apparent 
to any one who had followed Mr. Craig's writ- 
ings on the subject of stage decoration and 
scenic manipulation that he has received credit 
for being an originator whereas he was but an 
adapter. 

*'You no like?" asked Hong, eager to con- 
verse, as all individuals of the Chinese audience 
seem to be during the enactment of a play. 

*'Yes," I replied, ''Hike." 

''This belong very old play," he continued, 
quite unable to appreciate the irony of his 
words in the light of my thoughts about the 
"new" stage and scenery of which we have 
heard so much in recent years. But my 
thoughts quickly turned from Craig. To en- 
courage my "boy" to be quiet, I assured him 
that I had never enjoyed a theatrical represen- 
tation so much in my life, and I had no sooner 
done so than the "Emperor" on the stage sum- 
moned all his retainers, vassals and slaves. 



"Paris of the Far East" 109 

That particular moment of the play called for 
some sort of conclave, preparatory to the inevi- 
table combat. Somebody of high degree had 
*' sinned," he was to be put to the test in the 
presence of his emperor. Hong did not make 
the plot exactly clear to me, and I have my 
doubts if it was wholly clear to him. He caught 
some of the dialogue, as did the rest of the 
audience, but there was much that was drowned 
by the continued din caused by the orchestra, 
and the idea of ''suggestion" was carried so 
much further than our most prominent suggest- 
ers would think of going that one not thor- 
oughly acquainted with the subtle technique of 
Chinese pantomime could not hope to fathom it. 
For instance, as the clans arrived in the palace 
courtyard (represented by a wooden gate that 
may have cost ten cents) before they were ush- 
ered into the presence of His Majesty, the actors 
gave a jump, and after landing on their feet, at 
a point a yard from the gate, they stood still 
for some seconds while a young lady undulated 
a small stick on the floor. I could not under- 
stand, but Hong explained : 

"When these men come up to the courtyard of 
the palace there is much water, because the pal- 
ace is on an island, and they are unable to reach 
it without a boat. See that young girl! She 



110 The Spell of China 

is rowing a boat, a ferry. The men they jump 
into the boat and she takes them across to the 
palace gate." 

But I had another surprise before the crowds 
reached the palace. Some of them came from 
the right of the stage, some from the left — ^but 
the larger number came from the front of the 
house! *'What I have known as a Max Eein- 
hardt novelty," I whispered to myself, because 
the actors were streaming along a run-way, level 
with the heads of the audience. It was exactly 
as the famous German stage manager floods his 
stage with people at a moment's notice. That 
certainly was an innovation, because all the ar- 
ticles that have been written about Eeinhardt 
have told us so. 

''Very old," harped Hong, when I mentioned 
the matter to him. ''That is called ^The Flow- 
ery Way' in the Chinese theater." And on 
later investigation I found that this run-way 
was in existence in China several centuries ago. 
It is a feature of the usual equipment of the 
Chinese theater, as much so as seats for the 
audience, or the orchestra, and will be found 
even in the most provincial theaters. 

Although the particular spectacle that I was 
viewing made use of shifting screens for scenic 
background, I attended a smaller theater some 



^Taris of the Far East>> 111 

time later, and at the close of the first act I was 
astonished to see the small stage begin to turn 
on a central pivot. The second act setting came 
suddenly into view — after a few seconds of bois- 
terous music by the orchestra — and the play 
proceeded without intermission! I had no op- 
portunity for inquiring further into the matter 
while in China, but a few weeks later in Japan, 
having seen the same device there, I sought out 
an American who has been making a special 
study of the native theater in the Orient and 
said : ' ' Certainly this convention has been bor- 
rowed from the West. We have all been told 
that these stages are unique in England and in 
America." 

''That may be," he laughed, ''unique in 
America and England, but there are hundreds 
of them in operation over here. Probably the 
Japanese first took the idea from the Chinese ; 
but it is certain that the revolving stage, per- 
mitting the settings of the next act to be put into 
place while its predecessor is in view of the 
audience, has been used in Japan for centuries 
— just how many I am unable to learn. The de- 
vice may have existed in China at least a thou- 
sand years ago." 

Finally there was an intermission, and Hong, 
still doubtful of my opinion concerning the an- 



112 The SpeU of China 

cient Chinese spectacle that was being enacted, 
advised me to stay and see the next act. "It 
will be more better," he said, ''more better than 
the other part. Man belong emperor now hold 
court because he marry beautiful lady. Man- 
darin come from many province to bow before 
him. Beautiful costume ! ' ' 

And Hong was a good prophet. It was a 
''more better" spectacle than was offered in the 
earlier scenes; in fact, it was a "more better" 
spectacle than I have ever seen on a stage in 
any other country. The costumes were "more 
better" than any ever worn upon the operatic 
stages of London, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Bay- 
reuth or New York, because here were realities, 
whereas those in the theaters and opera houses 
of the Western world are tawdry imitations 
made to glow and glitter by the clever manipu- 
lation of calcium lights and colored globes. It 
is a well-known fact that the finest mandarin 
robes and head gear in China now belong to the 
actors and theaters. They have owned gor- 
geous costumes for many years, but after the 
establishment of the republic the impoverished 
Manchu nobility suddenly was obliged to open 
its chests of fine raiment that reposed within 
palace walls and was obliged to sell for what- 
ever could be obtained in a hurry. Eeady cash 



'Taris of the Far East" 113 

was a necessity and they had no other means of 
procuring it. They had little in addition to 
their wardrobes and jewelry. 

Europeans and Americans, long resident in 
the Orient, affect to despise everything ''Chi- 
nese." An American who had lived in China 
for fourteen years told me that he would not 
have so much as a Chinese plaque or vase in his 
home. Instead of availing himself of the op- 
portunity to stock his domicile with beautiful 
teakwood furniture, inlaid with mother-of- 
pearl, each piece an almost priceless gem, he 
preferred the Grand Rapids article. So beyond 
a few buyers for antique dealers in the West, 
there was no active demand for these things 
among Europeans or Americans. But the Man- 
chus required money. The husband of the 
Princess Der Ling told me that after the fall of 
the Manchus he visited palaces of the nobility 
at Mukden in which rooms were literally stacked 
with chests in which the gorgeous costumes of 
mandarins and courtiers had been placed, some- 
times after garments had been worn but once, 
although many of these things were gorgeously 
embroidered satin or silk robes which must have 
occupied their makers for months — even years. 
They were offered for the proverbial *'song," 
but, often enough, there were no buyers. 



114 The SpeU of China 

''Money, money, money," was the despairing 
cry of the owners. At length, the second-hand 
dealers of China took them, and many of them 
are being scattered around the marts of the 
world. But the best of them were bought by the 
actors and the theaters of the country. In de- 
sign they were exactly in accordance with the 
requirements of the native stage, because there 
is practically no such thing as modern drama in 
China. The nearest approach to it is a slightly 
varying method of producing the old stories 
culled from the legendary lore of bygone cen- 
turies. The stores themselves do not change, 
and the "periods" do not change; consequently, 
there is no change in the costumes as to style. 
They are always of that grand period when em- 
perors sat on their thrones and when feudal 
lords ruled from behind moated castle walls. 
And although Chinese theaters seem to elim- 
inate accessories and scenic investiture, even to 
the point of negligence, sometimes setting a pole 
that resembles a broom-handle in the middle of 
the stage to ''represent" a magnificent banyan 
tree in the palace courtyard, while the pala/tial 
pavilion itself is often represented by another 
pole set atop two sticks placed in an upright 
position, they are never lax in the matter of 
facial makeup and adornment or in oostumes. 



"Paris of the Far East" 115 

The masks of an older day — the idea for which 
doubtless came from the ancient Greeks by way 
of India — are not so commonly used as formerly, 
but I have seen Chinese actors made up to repre- 
sent black demons, with gilt or vermillion de- 
signs from Persian patterns on their faces that 
at a distance were scarcely discernable from 
papier mache masks, unless the scenes required 
a movement of the face in singing or speaking 
lines. 

As one of these demons came on the stage at 
Shanghai I recalled that Nubian slave in the 
American production of '^ Kismet" in which 
Otis Skinner was the featured performer. This 
ebony-hued gentleman attracted nation-wide 
comment for his artistry at makeup, as did the 
gilded figures in Grranville Barker's production 
of Shakesperian dramas. But they were as a 
child's water color painting beside a Eembrandt 
when compared to the makeup of the actors in 
even a provincial Chinese theater. A glance at 
these actors showed plainly enough the 
* * source ' ' of many of the ' ' pet theories ' ' of mod- 
ern stage operators in the West. Many of our 
"new" ideas seemed to be about contemporary 
with the building of the Ming tombs when 
viewed on the Chinese stage, *' which has not 
changed in essentials in a thousand years." 



116 The Spell of China 

But the greatest surprise and discovery of all 
came later, as the wonderful pageant ap- 
proached the stage along the Flowery Way, as 
I caught glimpses of Chinese lords coming to 
pay their tribute to the mighty emperor cos- 
tumed in magnificent robes of silk, heavily 
embroidered from the collar to the tip of the 
train, often so long that it required the service 
of four pages, as I observed the odd head-gear, 
ranging from pointed caps resembling bishops ' 
miters to grotesque diadems which spread out 
over their shoulders in curves and twists that 
resembled the roofs of temples and shrines, and 
my mind quickly turned to the costumes de- 
signed by the very modern Leon Bakst, of Paris, 
which have lately caused much comment in the 
Western world. 

The stage was flooded with people, and at the 
height of what seemed to be a barbaric oriental 
orgy a young lord recognized his favorite as the 
lady in whose honor the festivities were given 
by the Emperor. He had no means of redress, 
so with posturings and posings he approached 
the base of the throne and committed suicide. 
The lady rushed to him, thus betraying their 
** secret," so the Emperor ordered her to 
be killed. Confusion, terror — everything but 
artificial thunder and lightning! The mu- 



"Paris of the Far East" 117 

sic crashed and piped in unearthly noises! 

' ' Serge de Diaghileff and his Eussian ballet ! ' ' 
I said aloud, but Hong did not understand and 
asked me to repeat the words. "The Russians 
have accentuated the action of the scenes," I 
continued; "the Chinese do not care for rapid 
action, because they consider it to be vulgar 
and common." 

"Play very, very old," parroted Hong, now 
assured that I must be displeased. 

"You must get permission for me to go back 
on the stage," I said to him. 

"That is not possible," he regretted. 

"It must be possible. Tell them that I am 
an American actor, a Russian manager, or the 
Prince of Wales ; I don't care what you tell them 
and I will take the consequences, bat go and pro- 
cure permission for me to go on the stage." 
And, after considerable difficulty, the "boy" re- 
turned, bearing a slip of paper that gave me the 
coveted permission. During my first visit, 
there was the expected oriental reticence. 
"White people" do not go on the stage of a 
Chinese theater, and neither the stage manager 
nor the actors could understand my interest. 
They treated me politely and courteously of- 
fered me tea that had been poured on jasmine 
flowers, the petals of which floated on each cup 



118 The SpeU of China 

— a potion constantly imbibed by the actors. 
And they gave me an invitation to *'come 
again," so, a night later, I not only saw the 
show from ''behind the scenes," but sat by ac- 
tors' tables as they put on their remarkable 
makeup. On a later occasion they not only let 
me examine the wardrobe that was being worn, 
but brought out rare robes and head-dress that 
was put on for other plays. Stage hands spread 
out marvels of color, design and workmanships 

Yes, the plays were very old, the costumes 
and manner of presenting them were very old, 
the Flowery Way through the audience was very 
old, and even the makeup of the actors, because 
it was all in imitation of ancient masks. But 
Hong was a Chinese peasant, before he became 
an interpreter and valet. He may be excused 
for not knowing. There is not such a good ex- 
cuse for Americans and Europeans who have 
accepted the ''new" stage and the "moderns" 
and never thought to look to that decadent 
"father of all things," old China, for stage 
"novelties" as well as for the origin of printing 
and fire-crackers. 

One night the stage manager introduced me 
to a young actor named Cha Pih-yung and told 
me that his salary was $2,000 a month. In a 
country where there are almost daily reports 




OHA PIH-YUN^G 



"Paris of the Far East" 119 

that this or that movie actress has placed her 
name to a contract calling for that amount of 
money for about forty-eight hours' work the 
amount may not seem to be so large. It may not 
mean to the casual reader that it is an amount 
almost unheard-of for a public entertainer. 
Nevertheless, this is the case in China. Where 
coolies work for eight or ten cents a day, where 
artistic embroiderers receive twenty cents for 
working from dawn until sunset, and where por- 
celain artists and wood-carvers sometimes re- 
ceive the munificent salary of seventy-five cents 
a day, it will be observed that by comparison 
Cha Pih-yung is well paid. Also, there is the 
fact that actors of all grades are looked upon 
with unpitying contempt in China. The 
''Brethren of the Pear Orchard," as they are 
called by polite Chinese, are on a social scale 
with barbers. People who understand the Chi- 
nese language will realize better than the rest 
of us just what it means to be called by numbers, 
rather than by names. It gives the actors the 
general class distinction of animals, quite simi- 
lar to the Greman fressen used in connection 
with eating. 

It is not the popular opinion that actors de- 
serve to be well paid. Perhaps there is no coun- 
try o^ earth wbere theatrical performances of 



120 The Spell of China 

all kinds are more enjoyed than in China; but 
the status of the actor does not improve with the 
passing of the years. At best, the clan is about 
at the level of the strolling actor of the Middle 
Ages in Europe, and there are many other 
points of similarity between the stage of the 
Middle Ages in Europe and the present day in 
China, The services of professionals may be 
requisitioned at any time by a powerful man- 
darin, who commands them to put up their 
stages and act in his front court-yard fittingly 
to celebrate his birthday, or who desires to cele- 
brate the festival or birthday of a provincial 
idol, and commands them to go to the most in- 
convenient places, where they must act under 
the most distressing circumstances. Male and 
female parts are played by men, as in the days 
of Shakespere in England. 

In such a country, and under these circum- 
stances, Cha Pih-yung receives two thousand 
dollars a month ! I could not find any actor in 
China who receives anything like a similar 
amount, any one who had risen to a point any- 
where near his importance in stageland in the 
Flowery Eepublic, and it seemed strange that 
he should be an impersonator of female charac- 
ters. At least I expected that he would be cast 
for the extravagantly costumed and much over- 



"Paris of the Far East" 121 

played parts of the triumphing hero which are 
so common in Chinese drama. I thought that 
he would be one of those gentlemen who strut 
around the stage and prance down the Flowery 
Way to the back of the auditorium with pompous 
strides that are supposed to indicate wealth, 
authority and dignity, according to the celestial 
stage technique. 

The stage manager explained that Cha plays 
the "fair princess," who is a figure of import- 
ance in the old style drama. In the offering of 
the evening, he was playing the lady who had 
been commanded to commit suicide. A West- 
ern critic would believe that "the lady protest- 
eth too much," in these Chinese spectacles, but 
the native audience would not agree. "She" 
had scenes alone with the Emperor, and the lat- 
ter seemed almost on the point of relenting, 
while in almost the exaggerated emotional man- 
ner of the out-of-date Western stage, "she" 
begged for her life. Then at length, ' * she ' ' put 
on ceremonial robes, and after visiting numer- 
ous idols, with a specially constructed appeal to 
each of them, took her own life. The reader 
will appreciate that here was an opportunity to 
act, and it seemed that for fully two hours Cha 
occupied the center of the stage, reading a part 
that seemed to be as long as Hamlet's. 



122 The Spell of China 

Judged from any critical viewpoint, oriental 
or occidental, it was a remarkable performance ; 
and, in addition to whatever technical points 
of excellence I was able to observe, there were 
countless details that passed my eyes which 
would have been detected quickly enough in 
their neglect or elimination by the audience. 
There are a thousand little conventions relating 
to women's ''inferiority" that must be observed 
to the letter in such a play, or the feelings of 
the audience would have been outraged. There 
are details in regard to the arrangement, drap- 
ing, and hanging of costumes that would never 
occur to the Western actress or audience. And, 
in addition, there is a technique for every ges- 
ture of the arm or hand, every step or posture, 
and for every tone of the voice. This technique 
must stand as law in the Chinese theater. The 
actor who attempts to deviate from any of the 
traditional conventions would soon find himself 
in bad odor with his audience. 

Most difficult of all, however, seemed to be 
the strange, mincing gait of the "lady with the 
golden lily feet," for no princess of the period 
would have had large or natural feet. Those 
of Cha Pih-yung were in plain view of the audi- 
ence, bound with golden bands and incased in 
golden slippers. I had the opportunity to ex- 




A MANCHTJ WOMAN" 



"Paris of the Far East" 123 

amine them closely on the stage, after the per- 
formance, and they appeared to be about two 
and one-half or three inches long. He actually 
walked on the tips of three toes for a period ex- 
tending over four hours, excepting for the in- 
termissions, when he sat on a chair back-stage. 
Yet he did not indicate that he was enduring 
pain, and he has acquired the ''grace" of ''lily 
feet women" still admired by the Chinese, who 
will not admit that binding of the feet is a bar- 
barous practice. 

Cha Pih-yung, who may be taken as a repre- 
sentative of the best in Chinese theatrical art, 
chants his lines in an amazing falsetto voice that 
is laughable to a Western auditor, but quite in 
accordance with the traditions. All the other 
men who enact women's roles attempt to do 
likewise. It would not be "in the picture" for 
them to wear female costumes, take the parts 
of princess-heroines and recite their lines in 
a sepulchral basso. Cha becomes funnier still 
when he sings. He literally squeals with a ri- 
diculously nasal tone that is terrifying when 
heard for the first time. 

"I would like to interview this famous ac- 
tor," I said to the manager of the theater, as 
he was appearing in the closing scenes of the 
play. 



124 The SpeU of China 

*'I will present you to him," replied the man- 
ager, **but I doubt the 'interview.' Chinese ac- 
tors never heard about interviews. If you ask 
him questions, he will think you are an English 
police investigator of some kind. He will not 
want to let you have a photograph because that 
is 'bad luck.' They get this idea because a 
photograph of the deceased is carried in funeral 
processions." 

As Cha came hobbling from the stage he made 
a dash for a tea-pot from which a servant 
poured copious draughts. The manager at- 
tempted to explain to him what an ''interview" 
was like, and he was not much taken with the 
idea. He said, however, that he would think 
about it, while changing his costume, and dis- 
appeared. When he came back, I would not 
have recognized him but for the prompting of 
the manager. The rouge and paint had disap- 
peared from his yellow face, he was dressed 
in street attire and stood on two man-size 
feet. 

"I have been on the stage fourteen years," 
he said in masculine, almost brassy, tones. "I 
am twenty-seven years old. I have acted in 
Peking theaters for ten years. I have five hun- 
dred costumes, and sometimes I change my 
clothes four or five times during one act, never 



"Paris of the Far East" 125 

wearing the same costume twice in one eve- 
ning. ' ' 

''How much longer do you expect to play 
female parts?" 

*'I do not know." 

''When you stop playing them will you leave 
the stage?" 

"No, then I shall play the parts of old men." 

We were standing near the doorway and a 
uniformed Chinese came up behind us. He 
took Cha's big topcoat and stood at attention. 

"Pardon me," said the actor, bowing pro- 
foundly, "it is very late and I am very tired. 
I desire to rest." 

Outside the door was a waiting brougham, a 
most unusual conveyance in a city where every 
one rides either in an automobile or a rikisha. 
On the box were coachman and footman, uni- 
formed like the valet who had entered the thea- 
ter to meet his master. After the carriage 
started, this boy ran ahead and shouted at the 
top of his voice for people to get out of the 
way of Cha Pih-yung's carriage. Here was 
"importance" such as actors have never ac- 
quired in an occidental country. 

"Just as I expected," said the manager, who 
had acted as interpreter. "Only he was more 
communicative than I had expected, I never 



126 The Spell of China 

■ J. .: ■ 'rr'Xi 

heard Mm talk so much off-stage as he did to- 
night to you. Of course we know very little 
about our actors. They have no social stand- 
ing, being practically outcasts so far as the so- 
cial scale is concerned. We have no such thing 
as publicity, as it is known in the American 
theater, so we know nothing of their origin and 
never think to inquire, because we hear nothing 
from them after they leave our companies." 

''What is the origin of Chinese actors," I in- 
quired, "do they come from theatrical families 
as a rule 1 ' ' 

"I have not the slightest idea. Nobody 
seems to know, and in China nobody cares. It 
is merely a matter of pleasing an audience. 
When they qan do that, we pay them ; when they 
cannot, we let them go. Where they come from 
or where they go, it never enters our minds to 
inquire. Many of them come from the coun- 
try, I have heard, although some of them must 
be picked up in the cities. They begin their 
stage work when they are very young. Some- 
times a stage manager selects a likely young- 
ster, practically buys him from his parents, 
teaches and coaches him, and of course controls 
his movements for a term of years, often hav- 
ing a strangle-hold on a large part of his salary 
for the greater part of his career as a young 



"Paris of the Far East" 127 

actor. But, as I said before, nobody knows nor 
cares about these things in China. There are 
always more actors for the parts than can get 
employment. Never any difficulty in getting all 
places filled. There are so many people in 
China — actors, singers, musicians and every- 
thing else ! " 

In a country where actors are despised, Cha 
Pih-yung receives two thousand dollars a month, 
a salary by comparison to other Chinese artists 
that would equal a thousand dollars a day in 
America. And he has a slave to run before 
his carriage and shout his name. Perhaps here 
is "recognition." And celebrity is this that 
comes to few thespians in lands where they are 
heroes ! 



CHAPTER VI 

CITY OF HEAVEN BY HOUSEBOAT 

{VERY one from the West who goes to 
China and has the leisure should spend at 
least a week upon a houseboat. At first 
thought this may seem to be rather expensive 
and uninteresting experience, but it is neither, 
and one will gain an actual knowledge of in- 
terior China by sitting on the deck of a little 
boat that pokes its nose into the great network 
of China's canal system that can be gained in 
no other way. And, in addition, it is possible 
to find comforts, and what Westerners are 
likely to consider the necessities of life that are 
little dreamed of by the foreigners who tarry a 
while at the big city hotels and then take the 
train for Peking, and gain only the slightest 
knowledge of the country. Perhaps Shanghai 
is the best city from which to embark upon the 
houseboat excursion, because the river there 
abounds in luxuriously appointed little craft 
that may be leased for short periods. Even 
the tourist agencies have some of these boats 

128 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 129 

for rent, and gladly undertake to provision and 
equip them in Western style, similar to the ar- 
rangements that are made for trips up the Nile. 
But likely as not, it will be unnecessary to make 
the request of an agency. One is certain to 
meet some one who knows of a boat that may 
be leased for a small sum of money. Guides 
are glad to undertake a commission to procure 
the boat and provide its necessary equipment 
and crew. 

Perhaps I know of the great number of house- 
boats owned at Shanghai because I had seen 
what appeared to be hundreds of them moored 
to the river bank, and I may have had some 
previous knowledge of the many pleasant ex- 
cursions into the surrounding country that are 
available to one who controls the movements 
of a boat ; but I paid no attention to the matter 
until I recalled what my "boy," Hong, had said 
the day that we visited the Wa-lam-tsz, or the 
Temple of the Five Hundred Immediate Dis- 
ciples of Buddha at Canton. Hong was very 
religious, on occasion, particularly when we 
were in the vicinity of a temple or a shrine. He 
was somewhat non-denominational and felt in- 
spired to burn incense or recite a prayer 
whether he stood before an altar dedicated to 
Buddha, or one to Confucius, or to somebody's 



130 The Spell of China 

ancestors. And so it happened that when we 
were in the Cantonese temple Hong lighted a 
pnnk-stick and placed it upright in the ashes 
that almost filled a big jardiniere in front of 
the god who loves little children — amply proved 
by the fact that they are sprawling over his lap 
and shoulders. 

''This is Marc' Pol'," said Hong, pointing 
to the figure of a man who looked to be less 
oriental than the others. 

"Marc' Pol' ver' good man," he explained, 
so to give him the respect due him, I lighted a 
punk-stick and placed it upright in the jardi- 
niere before the statue. 

"Marc' Pol' he like China ver' much and stay 
here ver' long time," continued Hong. "He 
have see all the world, yet he say in China is best 
and grandest city on earth." 

"Which city?" 

"Hangchow, City of Heaven, at the end of 
the Grand Canal. Marc' Pol' was right; it is 
beautiful place. Mister would like to go there 
by houseboat?" 

At this time I gained the first knowledge of 
this interesting excursion, having previously an- 
ticipated going to the ancient capital of China 
by railway. "By houseboat to the City of 
Heaven!" The words were haunting, and al- 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 131 

though I made shght reference to the matter 
during the days that intervened, we went to 
the riverbanks to see the craft of which I had 
received such flattering accounts from the boy. 
A hasty inspection proved that he had not over- 
praised them. ''But these cannot be rented for 
the amount you say, " I insisted. ' ' Yes, mister ; 
boat, servants, food and all will not cost more 
than ten dollars a day." There was but one 
discouragement: all the boats seemed to be oc- 
cupied, or were soon to be. A few days later, 
however. Hong came to my room as nearly 
smiling as would be possible. ''I can get one 
ver' nice boat from rich Mr. Cho. I have seen 
to-day. Seven servants and boat." Two 
rikishas speedily took us for an inspection, and, 
as so often afterwards, I found that the serv- 
ant had not exaggerated, even in his enthusiasm. 
There were two cabins, a kitchen and ample 
quarters for Chinese servants. There was a 
good size deck over-spread with an awning; 
with wicker chairs and table. 

At Shanghai I succumbed to the lure of the 
water. Since I arrived in China I have seen 
thousands of people living on houseboats, run- 
ning the gamut from miserably poor sampans 
to palatial affairs with gardens of potted plants, 
ornamental balconies and other luxuries that 



132 The Spell of China 

would do credit to a houseboat on the Thames. 
And some of these boats are vastly more inter- 
esting. For example, they have a big eye 
painted on one side of the bow. The China- 
man says : * ' Boat have no eye, can no see, have 
no see, can no walk." And as even the en- 
lightened owners of some of the boats find it 
to their advantage to cater to the whims and 
superstitions of the serving folk, who do so 
much to make life agreeable or very disagree- 
able, it is always the safer way to give them 
much latitude. 

The average Chinese knows how to enjoy 
himself. He dotes on pretty things and he 
knows how to surround himself with them if he 
has the money. 

There were some strange Chinese characters 
gilded on the bow of the boat. I asked Hong 
what they were and he said: ''That belong 
name of boat. ' ' He pronounced them and they 
sounded surprisingly like ''Chilblain," which 
seemed to be a strange enough name in English 
for such a beautiful little boat. Probably in 
Chinese it means something like "Morning 
Pearl" or "Sunset Dew" or "Misty Land- 
scape." That would be more in the Chinese 
manner. But I preferred to call the boat ' ' Chil- 
blain." It was not much to look at from the 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 133 

outside, with the exception of the comfortable 
observation deck just outside the cabin door. 
But once inside, I saw literally a vision of 
beauty. The furniture was gilt and carved 
teakwood. The wall panels were of white em- 
broidered silk, with roses, butterflies and 
storks in that splendid manner known only to 
Chinese artists of the needle. Couches and 
chairs had snow-white cushions, as clean as if 
they had Just come from the laundry. At the 
doors and windows hung bright coral-pink cre- 
tonne curtains. There was a dining-room with 
teakwood table, sideboard and chairs. The 
panels of the walls were mirrors. An ornate 
chandelier of glass beads was suspended from 
the center of the ceiling. There were quarters 
for servants, a kitchen, and, most surprising of 
all, a bathroom. 

*' Seven servants and one captain belong to 
this boat when you rent him, ' ' explained Hong. 

I held my breath before receiving the blow. 
I wanted to know what it would all cost, but 
hesitated before asking. It seemed sure to be 
too luxurious for my purse, but I realized that 
cost was an important part of the whole enter- 
prise, so I asked. 

'* Houseboat, seven servants and captain cost 
four dollars a day,'* said Hong, naming Chi- 



134 The SpeU of China 

nese currency equal to the amount. He knew 
that I was paying five dollars for a rather dis- 
agreeable room at the hotel. "I know very 
proper Chinese cook," he continued. "He get 
fifty cents a day, but very proper cook, and 
make better chow than Astor Hotel, Shang- 
hai." 

**The world is mine — for about five dollars 
a day," I shouted, slightly paraphrasing Alex- 
andre Dumas ; and the bargain was struck imme- 
diately. 

Only a word to Hong was necessary and in. 
a few hours the "Chilblain" was mine, and I 
floated along toward the interior of China in 
lordly state, literally in taste becoming a man- 
darin. Lordly state comes cheap in China. I 
saw young Englishmen at Shanghai who were 
little better than clerks, yet they maintained 
bachelor apartments that would cost three hun- 
dred dollars a month in America. One young 
American who had apartments on the top floor 
— consequently the coolest — of a seven-story 
apartment house with an elevator, a fine new 
building equipped with all modern conveniences 
— ^which are still rare in China — told me that 
his rent was fifteen dollars a month. He was 
waited upon by a troupe of servants and main- 
tained the social position of a New York club- 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 135 

man, yet the total outlay was only about one 
hundred dollars a month. 

There are thousands of Chinese boys sitting 
around waiting for some one to engage them. 
In the cities, most of them have some experience 
and make splendid waiters and household serv- 
ants. About half the time they seem to antici- 
pate the wishes of their employers, and it is 
unnecessary to tell them more than once what 
is wanted, when or how. For example, one 
morning Hong saw me eating watermelon for 
breakfast, and not much else. So he put down 
in his oriental mind that I wanted watermelon 
for every morning, and because I ate little that 
first day it was difficult for him to understand 
why I wanted anything more on other mornings. 
But once they learn, they never forget. You 
explain anything once and there is an end of 
it. 

**I go buy chow for one week," said Hong, 
after I had acquired a lease of the ' ' Chilblain. ' ' 
That also seemed to be something of a task, but 
he did not think so. ''Tell me what you like 
for drink and I buy chow myself. ' ' 

**I think I will go with you when you 
buy." 

**A11 right, but, when you go, the store charge 
more, because you are rich foreign master. I 



136 The Spell of China 

go better alone, for I am China boy and they 
charge me not much." 

My appreciation of Hong had increased when 
I saw his success with finding a houseboat, so 
in this rather important matter of food I de- 
cided to leave everything to him. If worse 
came to worse, we could doubtless purchase 
chickens and eggs in the country. I thought I 
could trust him well enough not to turn me into 
a Chinese canal and let me starve, so I gave him 
his way and paid no attention to the "chow" or- 
der. He was away two hours and came back 
with a smile of satisfaction over his bronze fea- 
tures. He presented a bill for sixteen dollars* 
worth of ''chow," but said that he could return 
all unused goods at full price. The articles in 
the bill looked as if he had been equipping a hotel 
kitchen, even if the price did not. I knew that 
he could not have done wholesale buying of pro- 
visions for sixteen dollars, so I decided to say 
nothing and await developments. It is always 
the better way to say nothing to the orientals. 
They seem to understand without words and 
rather resent the intrusion of questioning. But 
I had not been a day away from Shanghai be- 
fore I was obliged to call a halt. I was living 
too high. A six-course dinner, four of them 
having side-dishes, may be all right once a day, 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 137 

but when it is repeated three times a day, in 
addition to **tea," the occidental stomach re- 
bels. 

It was at dinner. After soup and fish and 
three meat courses, Hong placed more meat be- 
fore me and I saw that the time had come for 
a lecture. I merely declined the dish, but he 
was inclined to argue. It was excellent, he 
said, "more better" than any of the others 
which I had eaten. If I did not eat it, I did 
not like the "chow" that he was provid- 
ing. Would I not try it? And he placed the 
dish on the table a second time. No, I would 
not, and I gave him instructions that he must 
never again serve me more than two kinds of 
meat at one meal. He looked crestfallen and 
went back to the kitchen, after which, to 
make amends, he brought me not only a por- 
tion, but a large steaming cabinet pudding and 
placed it all before me. It was delicious, and 
the sauce might have been prepared by a French 
chef. I ate and ate, but much more than half 
of the pudding remained, not counting a large 
piece which I threw out of the window when 
Hong was not looking. It was monotonous to 
explain to him that I could not eat everything, 
and he seemed to fear that I must be ill unless 
I could do so. Orientals must have observed 



138 The Spell of China 

Westerners with enormous appetites when they 
were forming their opinions of a white man's 
capacity for food. The pudding prompted a 
question. Where did he capture such a cook 
for fifty cents a day? Hong grinned. The 
cook was an old Chink from a ship, and the boy 
found him somewhere around the riverfront 
looking for work. 

^'He long before cook in London," explained 
Hong. 

''I thought so," I replied, although I had not 
thought so when trying to account for the mir- 
acles that came from the kitchen. 

That cook was a wonder, and he will live in 
memory as long as I live. He had a full knowl- 
edge of Western culinary arts, but this was 
mixed with an oriental desire to make every- 
thing look appetizing. Eggs in the morning 
were set in cups on plates garnished with mul- 
berry leaves, which the cook had snatched from 
overhanging trees as we passed along the canals. 
Baskets of fruit were arranged as one expects 
to see them arranged in the windows of an ex- 
pensive fruiterer. Fresh flowers were placed 
in the saucers of teacups, with perhaps one jas- 
mine petal dropped into the cup — a favorite 
delicacy with the Chinese. And all this work, 
knowledge and almost loving care with food for 



A Chinese Canal 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 139 

fifty cents a day! It seemed too good to be 
true. 

A few hours after we had left the city we were 
floating along an old canal and I spied a boy 
rowing his shell-like craft frantically in an en- 
deavor to reach us and attract our attention. 
His boat was loaded with two hampers, one of 
peaches and the other of loquats. He asked us 
to buy. 

''How much for the peaches T' I inquired. 
Hong named an amount equal to twelve cents in 
United States currency. 

''How much for the loquats?" 

"Eight cents." 

"And how much for the two baskets that hold 
them I" They were beautiful things, hand 
woven of bamboo and rattan, and I wanted them 
for a week, even if they were too cumbersome 
to take home. 

"Two and one-half cents." 

Needless to add, perhaps, that the boy dis- 
charged his full cargo on our deck. The twenty- 
three cents were willingly placed in the boy's 
palm, he was much pleased, and thus every one 
was happy at the bargain. 

An hour before our departure from Shanghai 
Hong rushed into my room at the hotel, saying 
that the train would leave in an hour and that 



140 The Spell of China 

we must be on board in forty-five minutes. 

''Idiot, we are not going on a train; we are 
going on a boat!" 

Visions of the worthy Mr. Cho 's floating pal- 
ace came before me and I wondered if there had 
been some hitch in the arrangements after all. 
But, as usual, I did not understand, so Hong 
explained that it was the boat train to which he 
had referred. A steam tug, in place of a loco 
motive, was scheduled to come along at four 
o'clock. All boats bound for Hangchow would 
throw it a line. Then, as they went along, all 
the craft would be lashed together, forming a 
long train that would go in and out of the cir- 
cuitous windings of rivers and canals, under 
arched stone bridges, through cities, towns, vil- 
lages and farms. 

"What clothing do I want to take along for 
the trip?" I inquired. 

"That belong my business," replied the 
squint-eyed one, meaning more correctly, "I will 
look after that for you," because no slang was 
intended. Immediately my trunk was in the 
hands of Hong. I was in the hands and at the 
tender mercies of Hong, or at least I felt that 
I was ; and a well-known and often quoted epi- 
taph would apply to him: "He seen his duty 
and done it noble." 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 141 

I was in possession of the ''Chilblain" fully 
twenty minutes before the train came along, and 
it gave me the opportunity to look over the crew. 
They seemed to be decked out in holiday attire 
to welcome the new master, for although they 
usually scampered around the decks stripped to 
the waist later in the trip, looking more like 
apes than men, that first afternoon they wore 
shirts, or what corresponds to shirts in China. 
They had fixed up for the occasion. Although 
most Chinamen have taken advantage of the op- 
portunity to cut off their queues, the river and 
canal men, most of whom come from the coun- 
try districts, have retained their pigtails. 
There was one ''missie" aboard, the wife of the 
captain, but she wore trousers like the rest, and 
her hair was dressed in pigtail fashion, so it was 
difficult to tell her from the others, and she 
handled a pole with as much skill as any of the 
men when quick action was needed. 

Hong has no queue. His hair is clipped and 
looks strangely bald among the others of the 
crew. But there is considerable class distinc- 
tion among them. Hong speaks of them as 
"coolies" and pokes out inch-long fingernails 
to prove that he is not a "working man." I 
asked him about his queue and he said that he 
clipped it off four years ago at the time of the 



142 The Spell of China 

revolution. ' ^ Too much catches on something, ' ' 
he explained, adding that one of his class could 
not think of being seen with his queue wound 
around his head. It must fly at full length, the 
longer the better, so he braided cords into it to 
make it longer. When the wind blew, it blew 
to one side, caught hold of things in passing and 
gave him much pain. And, besides, he believed 
that queues are foolish. He thought he was 
very much enlightened and rather looked with 
disdain upon most Chinamen, whom he de- 
scribed as * ' velly bad men. ' ' But he is a Chink. 
He said that his last master took him to Singa- 
pore on a business trip. The food on the voy- 
age didn't agree with him. He had pains in his 
stomach, so he took the next steamer back to 
Shanghai. 

''Why didn't you go to a doctor?" I asked 
him. 

"Master wanted me go English doctor," he 
said. * ' Doctor was good friend of he and mas- 
ter say all right, but I no think right. I want 
Chinese doctor, so I come back to him and he 
make me well again." 

*'Why did you not want an English doc- 
torr» 

"No, master, maybe I go English doctor and 
he cut out my stomach with a knife and I die. 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 143 

No, I go English doctor no time. I go Chinese 
doctor and he make me well again. ' ' 

And when one recalls that the stock in trade 
of Chinese physicians are such things as plas- 
ters made of snakes and spiders, pills made of 
rat blood, tiger hair and a dozen such delicacies, 
he is inclined to believe that there is much in 
having faith in one's physician. 

''I took off my queue to be like Englishman,'* 
continued Hong. ''My wife say to me that I 
am much like Englishman she had seen, because 
I think that all good man go up when they die, 
and that all bad man go down. I cannot tell 
much about that, but I can tell that I am not like 
Englishman when I am sick. I want China 
doctor." 

The pigtail was imposed upon the Chinese in 
1644, when they were conquered by the Man- 
chus, who remained in power until the death of 
the late dowager empress and the rise of the 
late Yuan Shi Kai as president. It was con- 
sidered a sign of subjection, but the wily Chinks 
soon turned it into a badge of honor and re- 
spectability by enacting a law that nobody in 
prison or guilty of crime should wear it. Dur- 
ing the long period in which the queue was worn 
it was an insult to call a man "tailless." As 
an added punishment a man's queue was some- 



144 The Spell of China 

times cut off before he was executed, if his crime 
was great and there was a desire to "humiliate" 
him before taking off his head. 

Murder has not been the only crime for which 
a man could be executed in China. In the older 
day his head came off if he was in the way of a 
political rival. Men are still executed for rob- 
bery in such centers of European enlightenment 
as Shanghai. And not far away from Shang- 
hai they are shot, but their heads are cut off aft- 
erwards, in deference to ancient custom. It 
isn't so much just to kill a man. There are so 
many of them in China that one does not count 
for much, even in the eyes of the Chinese them- 
selves. They value human life lightly. The 
other day a man told me that he had been 
obliged to give a fellow man over to the bam- 
boo-beaters, when I asked if the system still 
was in vogue in the interior districts. "This 
man took money from me and would not confess 
it," said the white man. "I told him that if he 
would confess I would take him out of the hands 
of the police, but he would not, so I felt obliged 
to give him over to the magistrate. Still he 
would not confess. So he gets fifty lashes of 
bamboo to-day, and you know that will ruin him 
for life." 

The practice of head chopping is still allowed, 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 145 

because with his head on his body it is the popu- 
lar belief that a man may meet his ancestors in 
the next world without being ashamed of his 
earthly life. They clip off the head, and no 
man would dare approach his ancestors with his 
head missing. This is the awful blow that 
every Chinaman fears. A queue was put to 
many uses in the older days. It was used to 
chastise children. It was used as a noose for 
the suicide. Now that they are tailless, China- 
men have been obliged to find a new way to 
fight. The good old style has become obsolete. 
One day, however, I saw a fight between two 
men, both of whom wore pigtails. They stood 
stock still, hurled abuse at one another and 
squealed like pigs. Each had hold of the oth- 
er's queue and jerked it violently to emphasize 
his words. In the older day, the policeman 
nabbed his man by the pigtail and held him se- 
curely. The swinging of the queue had its 
'' technique" in the art of the public story-teller, 
just as there is a technique in speaking or walk- 
ing on the theater stage. The queue was always 
doubled back and served to hold taut the necks 
of men who were about to be beheaded. 

In the days of queues every Chinaman wanted 
his to be as long as possible, and it speaks vol- 
umes for the vanity of oriental men when it is 



146 The Spell of China 

known that they used false hair or braid to 
make it appear to be longer than it really was. 
When the Chink was in mourning, he put white 
braid in his queue, for white is the mourning 
color, and it looks strange to the oriental to see 
foreigners eating their meals from white table 
cloths. Boys put red braid in their hair be- 
cause red is the lucky color. In fact, so much 
time was spent by Chinese gentlemen in dress- 
ing their hair that the reformers said it was a 
serious drain on the resources of the country. 

All these things — and many more — Hong told 
me as we sat on deck and moved in the train of 
boats that pushed the thousands of sampans and 
junks out of the way and passed along up into 
the Grand Canal, which runs all the way to 
Peking. I saw life that I had not been led to 
suspect existed in China. For instance, whole 
villages were built of grass and placed on the 
tops of poles set in the water. There were huge 
duck farms penetrated by little canals in which 
the fowls were so thick that they were fighting 
for swimming room. One day I saw a Chinese 
*' dandy" out for a walk with his pet pig. He 
stepped along as blithely as did ever American 
Johnny with his bulldog. 

Wonderful sights I saw by day, and in the 
evening heard remarkable music. The men and 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 147 

women in the surrounding boats stopped their 
work after sundown and sat on deck, piping 
weird strains from flute-like instruments, ac- 
companied by brass chimes or gongs. On the 
banks people walked along toward the villages, 
carrying torches instead of lanterns. 

Days were spent like this, days followed by 
peaceful nights ; and then, one morning, I saw a 
city in the distance, but its greatness has been 
diminishing for thousands of years, and to-day 
it is but sorry remains of former glory. I was 
arriving at "Hangchow, the City of Heaven." 
This was the oriental Venice so glowingly de- 
scribed by Marco Polo, and thousands of orien- 
tal and occidental writers since his day. Hang- 
chow, the ancient capital of China, the cradle of 
learning and the arts in this vast empire. An- 
cient emperors of China loved Hangchow so well 
that their advisers told them they spent too 
much time there for the good of the country. 
We tied up to a funny old five-arch stone bridge, 
and my attention was attracted to a big coolie 
who was carrying a well-dressed maiden astride 
his shoulders and was cantering along at a lively 
gait. Inquiry proved that she was a ' ' sing-song 
girl, ' ' a public entertainer, who was going home 
after a night in the city. Sing-song girls are 
too "wicked" to live in Hangchow but they re- 



148 The SpeU of China 

side just outside. And at sundown there is a 
big procession of coolies carrying them into the 
town for the evening's festivities. The one I 
saw was late in getting home. That was all, 
said Hong, and he could not see anything un- 
usual in having a coolie for a "vehicle." All 
sing-song girls do. 

But as I looked out over the vast distances in 
which there were groups of buildings and large 
open spaces, there was little that was different 
from the endless canal banks, staring populace 
and the sounds and odors characteristic of a 
Chinese city which have become so familiar to 
my eyes, ears and nose in recent days. 

I thought of the words of Marco Polo, who 
wrote: *'It is doubtless the best and grandest 
city in the world," and his references to the 
hundreds of merchant ships that filled the port. 
Also Friar Odoric's "It is the finest and noblest 
city, and the finest for merchandise that the 
world containeth." He compared it to Venice, 
which he had seen, saying that it was built upon 
lagoons, connected by twelve thousand bridges. 
And one who has seen them knows that Chinese 
bridges are not things to be passed over lightly. 
They are still marvels of construction, lending 
beauty to almost any landscape. My enthusi- 
asm had been aroused for the feast that would 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 149 

meet my eyes. I recalled that even the Chinese 
emperors, after the capital had been moved 
from Hangchow, spent so much time here that 
it called forth protests from the people. One 
emperor dissipated so much wealth on his state 
journeys to Hangchow that his prime minister 
reminded him that each inch of his journey cost 
his people one inch of silver. 

But as I stood on the deck of the houseboat 
that first morning I could not see the great mer- 
chant ships of the world. They seemed to have 
all departed for other ports less "heavenly." 
The bridges had also departed, at least eleven 
thousand of them, as not more than three hun- 
dred and fifty remain. Great palaces and libra- 
ries — for Hangchow was the literary repository 
of the empire — had crumbled into decay and 
were toppling over into the channels, and filled 
many of the waterways. The ''Queen City of 
the Orient" has changed mightily, but it still 
remains a city of pretentions and vast propor- 
tions. It vies in antiquity with Damascus and 
Baalbek for interrupted existence of centu- 
ries. 

Hangchow is, to-day, a city of nine square 
miles, within the ancient walls, and it has about 
one million inhabitants. Its silk is counted 
among the best that comes out of China, just 



150 The Spell of China 

as it was in ancient times, when the quality was 
so superior that the imperial court ordered vast 
quantities for its own use, even when residing 
at other capitals, and the various products of 
its artisans compete fairly with all others in the 
marts of the world. And yet Hangchow is in 
decay. Its principal asset is its beauty. 

It is still the ''city of heaven" to the Chinese, 
but this city is not visible from the canal bank. 
A large per cent, of the population lives in junks 
and sampans on the water, although there is 
still wealth in the city and some fine ancient resi- 
dences. The boats were crowded around us, 
and I watched them that first morning as they 
pushed aside the sheltering straw mats and the 
people made their toilet for the day. 

Gone are the three thousand public baths of 
which Marco Polo wrote. ''The water is sup- 
plied by springs," he said. "They are hot 
baths, and the people take great delight in them, 
frequenting them several times a month, for 
they are very cleanly in their persons. ' ' 

But the baths that I saw were of muddy canal 
water. Sometimes there were eight or ten peo- 
ple on a sampan no larger than an American 
row-boat. One by one they appeared for the 
morning "spray." They had a long-handled 
mop of rags, which they dipped down into the 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 151 

muddy water, and, standing erect, they splashed 
it over their bodies by strange manipulations of 
the handle. When the bath was over, the prin- 
cipal benefit derived must have been that it had 
been cooler than the air. Certainly it had not 
cleansed them, and from the staring crowd that 
assembled to look at the '^foreign devil" — I 
could not say with Marco Polo that they were 
very cleanly in their persons. 

I watched a little housewife on a neighboring 
boat as she prepared rice for the morning meal- 
Milady had '^lily feet" and hobbled about the 
square-yard deck of her "kitchen" as if she had 
been on stilts. She had a big earthen jar, in 
which rice had been soaking over night, or 
longer. But apparently she did not consider 
it a clean jar, because she dipped several hand- 
fuls of rice into a fine-mesh basket and threw it 
over into the muddy canal, where she "washed" 
it by spinning the basket round and round. 
Then she put it into a copper pot and placed it 
over an earthenware stove the size of the pot, 
in which she fanned a fire made of twigs and 
charcoal. In what seemed an incredibly short 
time the rice pot was steaming, and when I went 
inside the cabin for my own breakfast the whole 
sampan family were squatting around the pot, 
each scooping a bowl of rice and shoving it into 



152 The Spell of China 

his mouth with chopsticks with a speed that in- 
dicated great hunger. 

Groups of coolies with sedan chairs, the prin- 
cipal vehicle of Hangchow, had gathered on the 
bank during breakfast, so when I came out there 
was lively competition to see who should carry 
me into the city. Poor, half-starved men — the 
natives give them but a few coppers for their 
work, and they thought, when they saw me, that 
they possibly detected an extra coin. They ven- 
tured as close to the railing of the boat as they 
could come, without actually touching it. They 
immediately set up, not only a plea, but almost 
a demand that they be engaged, all of them, and 
there were enough to carry ten persons instead 
of two. They made almost threatening ges- 
tures, and when I was about to retire to the 
cabin with anything but ''heavenly" thoughts 
regarding these people of Hangchow, Hong 
came to the rescue. And he was a good match 
for them when it came to screeching at the top 
of his voice, gesturing and threatening. Four 
men offered to carry me all day for one dollar, 
but Hong shook a stick at them and told them 
they were no good. Another set had a chair 
that was dirty, so they were waved aside. Fi- 
nally, he picked a quartet that looked as if it 
were made up of Tartar pirates. He liked their 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 153 

chair and they seemed to be strong enough, so he 
promised them one dollar for the day, and I 
walked the gang-plank and seated myself in the 
ancient ''vehicle," for a closer inspection of the 
city of Chien Liu, commonly known in Chinese 
history as the ''Great Prince Chien," the salt 
peddler who became a powerful ruler, and who, 
to this day, is considered Hangchow's most illus- 
trious personage. 

First of all, we came to the walls, which are 
still in a fair state of preservation. They are 
the best reminders that Hangchow claims to be 
a city with almost four thousand years of known 
history. But the principal interest in the pres- 
ent wall, which is ornamented with ornate tur- 
rets, is that the whole thing was constructed in 
the short space of three months. 

For thousands of years every invader in the 
district has focused his attentions upon the city, 
which has been talked about as much as any city 
of the antique world. Always some one has 
been trying to demolish it, and soon afterwards 
some one always arose who wanted to rebuild it. 
This process of total demolition and piece-meal 
reconstruction has gone on for centuries. In 
1360, however, a man named Chang Shih-cheng, 
a feudal lord, took things in his own hands and 
said he would work quickly. The wall is thir- 



154 The Spell of China 

teen miles long, thirty feet high and forty feet 
wide at the base; even to-day it is a master- 
work, although the constructive genius took no 
longer to build it than the ordinary man would 
take for the construction of a summer cottage. 
Here was one who must have inspired much en- 
thusiasm, for when he announced his intentions 
to rebuild Hangchow he had the services of five 
hundred forty thousand stone-masons, fifty 
thousand carpenters, three hundred sixty thou- 
sand plasterers, six thousand six hundred sev- 
enty-five metal workers, and four million five 
hundred thousand coolies, according to the 
city's history, which is believed to be fairly au- 
thentic. 

As I stood gazing at this marvel, a crowd of 
the people of Hangchow congregated, and when 
they showed signs of hostility, spitting and 
shouting at me, I was obliged to move along, 
and the chair coolies were forced to set up a ter- 
rific howl as they shoved the people of the City 
of Heaven aside and passed into the great street 
that goes from one side of the city to the other. 
Marco Polo said : * ' This street is wide enough 
for nine carts to travel abreast, and as level as a 
ballroom floor." Either things have changed 
much, or Marco was mistaken. In some places 
it is no more than eight or ten feet wide to-day. 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 155 

The highway is paved with big flagstones and 
they are in sadly ruined condition, after cen- 
turies of travel over them. It had rained 
the night before, and in the middle of the 
streets there were pools of filth into which 
the coolies stumbled almost up to their knees, 
causing the chair to rock and pitch like a ship 
at sea. 

Nothing daunted, the merchants piled their 
wares far in front of their stores and stalls, 
sheer to the edge of the filthy pools — ^vegetables, 
meats, silk and other articles of wearing ap- 
parel. They squatted among their heaps of 
stock and seemed to care nothing about the vile 
stench that came steaming up from the pave- 
ments in the morning sun, 

I saw a strange, cobwebbed stall, in which a 
woman sat sewing, surrounded by a fine collec- 
tion of carved soapstone vases of beautiful col- 
ors and designs. I shouted to the coolies to 
stop, and commenced to bargain, but the crowd 
became so dense that I was obliged to leave the 
chair, go inside her stall and close the front 
door, which, left the place in semi-darkness. 
Clinging to a particularly fine specimen, I asked 
her the price. She shouted something and 
seemed to indicate that she did not want me in 
her store at any price. 



156 The Spell of China 

''She say that vase cost sixteen dollars," in- 
terpreted Hong. ''It is too much; offer her 
very little and see." 

"One dollar," I said. 

The woman shouted like a demon and let out 
a torrent of abuse. I had insulted her, and she 
declared that she would be disgraced before all 
of her ancestors if she gave me the vase at such 
a price. 

"She say give her five dollars for it," said 
Hong. 

' ' One dollar, ' ' I repeated. 

The old woman spat on the dirt floor, to show 
her disgust for me and my kind. Still yelling 
at the top of her voice, she went back to her sew- 
ing and indicated that she was through, so I 
said that we would go, and started for the door. 
The merchantess seemed to pay no attention and 
I passed along and climbed into the chair again. 
The coolies raised it to their shoulders and we 
would have disappeared into the crowd in a 
moment if she had not run to me, vase in hand, 
shouting something that I could not under- 
stand. 

"She say take it for one dollar," shouted 
Hong. 

' ' Never, ' ' I replied indignantly. * ' I offer one 
dollar in shop and she no take. Now I give fifty 



I H|' 




■■j 


1 K 










M"*^" 


fli 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 157 

cents" — attempting the ''baby English" which 
Hong understood better than he did "plain 
American. ' ' 

He interpreted what I said and the old lady 
cpat on the ground again and shouted some- 
thing to the crowd, probably that the white devil 
was trying to rob her. One would have thought 
that I had some of her property concealed in the 
chair. She saw that she must act quickly, so 
she handed the vase to me. 

"She say take it for fifty cents," said Hong, 
with a chuckle, and the coveted carving changed 
hands. A sixteen dollar vase for fifty cents ! I 
congratulated myself that I had become a good 
oriental bargainer. 

The coolies carried me along over countless 
bridges, through filthy narrow streets, halting 
now and then in front of a shop or a stall that 
displayed something that was unusual and might 
attract my eye. They perspired like race- 
horses. They were stripped to the waist and 
streams of water coursed down their backs, rip- 
pling over ribs that caused the skin to bulge. I 
felt guilty. To be sure, I saw four coolies trot- 
ting along merrily, carrying a stone that 
weighed three or four times as much as I did, 
and huge bales hanging from bamboo poles 
across their shoulders. But I asked Hong about 



158 The Spell of China 

it and told him that I didn't want to overwork 
them, in reality, not knowing that I was giving 
them a holiday, because, no doubt, they would, 
have had a much heavier load of merchandise, if 
I had not employed them. 

''That not because you are heavy that they 
perspire," he explained, "that because they 
shout so much to get people out of road. Much 
people get in road because you are foreign mas- 
ter." 

At noon we came to the hotel. In many ways 
it seemed to be the most remarkable hotel in the 
world. It was a big brick structure, doubtless 
erected at great expense by the railway. A de- 
termined effort is being made to induce tourists 
who come to China to include Hangchow in their 
itineraries, so the hotel was put up to accommo- 
date them. The hotel is there, but there is little 
accommodation. The coolies took my chair into 
the "lobby" and dropped it on the floor. I 
stepped out in mud and water ankle deep, and 
quickly made my way to a staircase, up which I 
mounted to the second floor, where a waiter said 
something about the difficulty of keeping the 
main floor of the hotel clean in such rainy 
weather as they had been experiencing lately. 
He might have said "impossible" instead of 
difficult, because eight muddy feet of coolies for 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 159 

every chair that enters the place soon cover 
tiles with spattering clay. 

As I sat down on a sofa the waiter handed me 
a sheet of paper, on which were Chinese charac- 
ters translated into English on the other side. 
In many ways it was a document as remarkable 
as the hotel itself. It told of the conveniences 
and comforts of the structure, and just why it 
was handed to me, a guest, or at least a prospec- 
tive guest, when I was there and could see for 
myself that there was no convenience, comfort, 
cleanliness or decency, I was unable to ascertain. 
But at least the paper gave me a smile. Here- 
with a few quotations, picked at random from 
the large printed sheet. 

*'Now since the Shanghai-Hangchow railway 
has been connected, the commerce is gradually 
prospered. The masters of the hotel having 
spent much money begin to build the great build- 
ing the Eailway Hotel. On its upper part there 
is a roof garden and by using the electric pass- 
ing the people can go up and down without any 
on foot trouble while on the lower part the mer- 
chant shops supplied with different kinds of 
things are arranged so that the things may be 
conveniently brought up. It is built in the 
foreign up-to-dag style. The hotel in middle 
consists altogether of about more than one hun- 



160 The Spell of China 

dred rooms. It is full of bright rays and fresh 
air. Large and beautiful are the hall and din- 
ing-room, which may be let for marriage, feast 
giving, meeting and so forth. The foreign fur- 
nitures, the large iron beds and those fine and 
useful things are furnished. The hotel also pro- 
vides with beautiful spreadings, the silk 
bedquilts, the mosquito nets and the electric 
lamps and may be used by the passengers with- 
out paying any money. The water is filtered 
and very clean indeed. The diligent and trust- 
ful boys and maidens are hired and the passen- 
gers may call them at pleasure. The committee 
who specially has the duty of adhering will do 
the passengers order at any time. If they want 
to see some friends, or visit the famous places, 
the boat, the jinrikisha, the chair and the horse 
may be hired in a moderate price. ' ' 

The ''committee" which seemed to consist of 
a group of howling bellboys, who acted much as 
the coolies acted in the streets, fairly fighting 
with one another for the privilege of waiting on 
guests, stood near me as I read the paper. 

"Take me to this celebrated roof garden," I 
said to one of them. 

"You must buy ticket," he said, "please come 
after me." 

We climbed another flight of circular steps 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 161 

and arrived in front of a somber-looking indi- 
vidual, who squatted behind a low desk on which 
papers and books were littered. He was writ- 
ing Chinese characters in a book, doubtless bal- 
ancing his accounts. He slapped down a piece 
of cardboard, when the waiter told him that I 
wanted to ascend, and named an amount of Chi- 
nese currency equal to five cents. 

*'That is for riding in lift," explained the 
boy. We went into the elevator and a man 
looked over my ticket and handed it back to me, 
whereupon he turned a lever and we shot up- 
ward — one story, into the open air. It had cost 
me five cents to make the ascension, but it was 
worth it. At least up here there were no odors 
and no mud. A few potted plants were scat- 
tered around and groups of Chinamen sat under 
straw awnings, enjoying their noonday meal. 
They were scooping great bowls of rice and 
chopped meat and vegetables into their mouths. 

"Have Chinese chow or foreign chowf" asked 
a sleepy individual, who seemed to be a sort of 
head-waiter. His costume consisted of a pair 
of white drawers and a sleeveless undershirt. 
I was glad that there was nothing which com- 
pelled me to see the cook. There was nothing 
about the whole place that prompted a desire for 
food, but I was too far away from the boat to 



162 The Spell of China 

think of returning, so I said *' foreign" and we 
decided that chicken was the best thing offered 
on the day's menu. I spied a good basket of 
fruit on the table and thought with this to fill 
out, everything would be all right. But it was 
not. The chicken was burned and dried to the 
bone, seemingly having been cooked before— 
perhaps many times. The fruit must have been 
better a week before than it was on that par- 
ticular day. A man who said that he was not 
the manager of the hotel, but was acting man- 
ager in his chief's absence from the city, apolo- 
gized for the food when I told him that it was 
miserable, even to the butter which smelled like 
axle-grease, and he volunteered to send down 
town for some sing-song girls to come up and 
entertain me, apparently in lieu of no food fit to 
be eaten. 

The other day a young white man who was 
born in China and who has spent his entire life 
here, with the exception of four years in an 
American college, was telling me of his hard- 
ships during one of the ever-present Chinese 
revolutions. He was caught at Hangchow, when 
the trains were not running from the city. He 
was told to leave and to leave in a hurry. The 
larger boats were all engaged or already had 
sought a haven of safety^ so he was obliged to 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 163 

engage a sampan. He had only one hundred 
miles to go to his relatives and to safety, but his 
boat was rowed by one man with one oar, and it 
took him eleven days to make the trip through 
the canals. 

"I was obliged to lie in the sampan most of 
the time because the straw top was so low that I 
couldn 't sit up, ' ' he related. * ^ I could stand all 
this, even the terrible canal mosquitoes at night 
and such things, but the test came when it was 
a case of eating Chinese food, prepared on the 
boats that we passed en route. Chinese food 
for eleven days ! It does not seem possible that 
a white man who knew about it could endure it 
and then live to tell the story. But here I am, 
although I confess that it was the most trying 
ordeal of my life. I travel into the interior of 
China every six months — ^he was a cigarette 
salesman — ^but I always take my cook, who pre- 
pares and buys my food. Otherwise I would 
have been dead long ago." 

After lunch we started out again. This time 
I had told Hong that I wanted to go to West 
Lake, a body of water that has as much classical 
poetry written about it as any body of water in 
the world. Ancient poets vied with one another 
to make their compositions about it better than 
their predecessors ', with the result that a library 



164 The Spell of China 

of volumes is extant with West Lake as the topic 
of inspiration. 

In reality, it is the lake that gives Hangchow 
its reputation for visual splendor. It was the 
scene around the lake that drew mighty emper- 
ors, princes and scholars to the surrounding 
hills. Many of them spent their entire lives 
here, and many who tried to go away felt drawn 
back to the beauties of the place and came back 
to die. Some of the rulers who were obliged 
to go away from Hangchow endeavored to imi- 
tate its beauties in the construction of their gar- 
dens. Many ancient books were written de- 
scriptive of its ' ' eight beautiful places. ' ' Later 
the eight were expanded into ''seventy beauti- 
ful places" and found their way to Japan, like 
everything else Chinese, where they became the 
principal inspiration for the gardens of Nippon 
that have excited the admiration of the world 
with their bridges, pagodas and ponds — all in 
imitation of, or an adaptation of West Lake and 
the surrounding shores at Hangchow. 

Soon we plunged into the narrow thorough- 
fare again. Starting out to go to any given 
point in a Chinese city is as much of a mystery 
as going into one of those mirror mazes that we 
have at American Luna parks. Five chairs or 
rikishas may start from a given point and make 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 165 

for the same place, but unless there is one great 
central road they will soon scatter into different 
alleys and streets, keeping only to the general 
direction indicated. But we emerged from the 
tangle. There was a wide street paved with big 
flagstones that went down to the water edge. 
My attention was attracted to perhaps a hun- 
dred houseboats, each with screaming polemen 
who shouted for my patronage. Beyond them, 
across the lake, I saw the wonderful view that 
had charmed the world. At last here was 
Hangchow, City of Heaven, with bridges, pal- 
aces, pagodas and a dozen things that con- 
tributed to the beautiful scene. 

My impression was that of passing from pur- 
gatory into paradise. The coolies spattered 
along through the filthy and vile streets of Hang- 
chow. At the hotel I had told them to take me 
to West Lake. My earlier experiences of the 
day had not been the sort that make me think 
that I was visiting the ''City of Heaven." I 
began to think that the Chinese poets, and even 
old Marco Polo, himself, must have had lively 
imaginations. Either that or things had 
changed in a thousand years. Of course things 
do change in a thousand years, even in old 
China ; and as the foul odors of the streets met 
my nostrils, as I looked into the faces of the 



166 The Spell of China 

weird crowds and saw almost savage life, I was 
about ready to give up my quest for beauty and 
go back to the houseboat and breathe the com- 
paratively pure air of a Chinese canal. 

I merely took one more chance and told Hong 
that if West Lake did not come nearer to living 
up to the classical reputation of Hangchow, we 
would go elsewhere and take the word of histo- 
rians about the grandeur of the place which was 
no longer grand, or did not seem to be. But 
once we emerge from the tangle of streets the 
coolies put down my chair on flagstones that 
went down to the waters of a five-mile lake. 
Immediately I realized that my wily Chink boy 
had reserved this view for the great climax of 
our houseboat meanderings. Here, at last, was 
one of the great objects of all travel in China. 
From the depths of a squalid, filthy, miserable 
China I had emerged into the real Hangchow, 
City of Heaven. Before me lay the original of 
the great landscape gardens of the world. 

Here I saw that Hangchow is still a city of 
great wealth and oriental indolence. Recon- 
structed palatial dwellings and pavilions of 
ancient courts still face the lake, and are ten- 
anted by a dreamy class of Chinese who live in 
the China of one or two thousand years ago and 
do not care for the onward march of events. 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 167 

They much prefer that luxurious life of the past. 
The outside world does not exist for them and 
they think only of intellectual and sensual pleas- 
ures. What else is life for? At least that was 
my impression when I passed from Hangchow's 
purgatory into its paradise. 

The waters of the lake seemed to be of silver. 
A great arched stone bridge stretched itself 
away into the distance to the base of hills 
capped with pagodas, monasteries and temples. 
Even from this distance I could see bushes and 
vines in festoons of green over the balconies of 
pagodas. And when such vegetation thrives on 
the mortar with which hewn stone has been put 
together, one knows that centuries of summer 
suns have caused the great heaps of stone to dis- 
integrate. A mildewy and musty languor hung 
over the place, discernible in everything, even 
the people. They seemed to be people who had 
lost ambition. Most of them looked like the 
stone relics of the City of Heaven, the degener- 
ate results of an over-ripe civilization. 

It was well along in the afternoon when I ar- 
rived on the shores of the lake, and everything 
was quiet until the houseboat polemen saw a 
possible foreign customer. They set up an aw- 
ful howl, but this was quieted when I rented 
one of the boats. There are no small crafts, for 



168 The Spell of China 

the humbler folk of the city do not come here. 
Here seemed to be the original idea for some- 
thing that is now practised throughout the 
world. Many sacred and imperial edicts have 
been issued in regard to encroaching upon the 
waters. Emperors said that it must be pre- 
served as a place of beauty, and now there is no 
emperor the ruling classes see to it that the same 
laws hold good. It seemed all strangely like 
taxing the people of a Western city to build and 
maintain macadamized park roads and boule- 
vards so that the poor may enjoy sitting on the 
grass and watching machines speed past, know- 
ing that the owners of automobiles are suffering 
no discomforts. But the poor do not go and sit 
by the shores of West Lake. They know that 
they will always be poor. There are visiting 
mandarins and the aristocrats from other cities, 
visiting Hangchow swells and voluptuaries, 
enough of them to fill the houseboats every eve- 
ning. Squalid poverty must have no place in 
the picture of beauty. Here, at last, was China 
of which the Western world knows little. Per- 
haps I am wrong in a measure, but I suspect 
that here is the untainted China of a long 
ago. 

The boats are splendidly fitted up like a house, 
with sofas, chairs, tables and other articles of 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 169 

furniture. Some of them have splendidly 
equipped kitchens that produce food that is con- 
sidered "classical" because the chefs prepare 
strange concoctions that date back to the re- 
mote days of Yao and Shun, and serve them to 
the delighted guests. A man who knows told 
me that for ten to twelve dollars gold a man 
may take a party of friends for a "tour of the 
lake ' ' on these boats, feast them royally, enter- 
tain them with a group of sing-song girls and a 
"mystic" juggling performance, of which the 
Chinese is so fond, and make a night of it. This 
entertainment has its etiquette similar to that 
of the chano yu tea ceremony of Japan. Much 
of it is complicated and would not be considered 
particularly hilarious by an American "swell," 
but it is highly appreciated by the people who 
understand, and there are features of the boat 
ride that would appeal to the average Yankee, 
even if the odor of incense and punk sticks did 
not, and if he were not interested in the scenery, 
which the host is supposed to point to while he 
declaims verses from the classics. 

After we were poled back to the shore we were 
just in time to see many of the parties starting 
out for the evening's revelry. It was all very 
quaint, and was accompanied by almost a ritu- 
alistic ceremony. Every one arrived in a sedan 



170 The Spell of China 

chair carried by coolies, and most of the hosts 
and guests brought their own personal servants 
with them. 

Poor Mrs. Hangchow ! I did not see much of 
her, and suppose that etiquette requires her 
staying at home when her husband is enjoying 
the lake ride. Hosts and guests were all male. 
Later in the evening, after the feasting and 
drinking, the barges would be poled to the shore 
and the sing-song girls taken aboard. No doubt 
they had been ordered for a certain hour and 
would be there on the minute. Coolies would 
bring them astride their shoulders, as I saw 
them carried about the streets the night before. 
They would be dressed in tight trousers, usu- 
ally white, with dark coats, and sometimes with 
decorations in their hair. 

''Are these men bachelors'?" I asked Hong. 

''Nobody," he laughed. "Everybody he 
marry in Hangchow, and the men you see have 
many wife, because they have much money. 
Sometimes a man of Hangchow who not rich 
have two or three wife ; the rich sometimes have 
six or seven." 

"But none of them brought their wives to the 
entertainment on the lake." 

"Perhaps have many wife, but do not love any 
of his wife because they have been picked for 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 171 

him by his family and not by himself, ' ' was his 
rather laconic explanation. 

Soon after coming ashore I saw many soldiers 
standing around the landing piers, which re- 
minded me of something that I heard about the 
military of the district of Hangchow. There 
had been a revival of the age-old fighting be- 
tween the people of Hangchow and the neigh- 
boring district or province. Finally, the case 
came not long ago for a test of arms and 
strength. The day qf the battle was agreed 
upon, but when it dawned it was raining, so the 
Hangchow commander sent a communication io 
the commander of the opposition's army asking 
that hostilities be postponed until more pleasant 
weather, which proved to be quite agreeable to 
both sides. The military of Hangchow were be- 
ing put through drills the other day and the men 
were being initiated into the mysteries of mod- 
ern trench warfare. The commander ordered 
his men, but they said it was too muddy and 
dirty, and, to a man, refused to go in, so the drill 
was abandoned until more favorable conditions 
obtained. 

These stories are fairly typical of Chinese 
soldiers in the country districts, where they are 
removed from the ''foreign" influence. They 
hate trouble and will do anything to avoid it. 



172 The Spell of China 

And another fact that is important: the mili- 
tary is thoroughly detested by the masses of 
people, being quite without any social standing 
at all, which is a sorry condition in China. Chi- 
nese say that when a boy has displeased or dis- 
obeyed his parents, and when they have cast him 
off without money, he joins the army. So, in 
addition to being considered a family outcast, a 
miserable condition in China, he is a social out- 
cast. As a result, the typical soldier of the 
rural districts is a slouchy, slovenly creature, 
who usually appears to be very sleepy. No- 
toriously, he is a coward and would be badly 
startled if some one shouted to him. 

But even this is in keeping with Hangchow. 
Everything has passed, or is passing, to decay. 
The old city seems to have lived too long, and it 
may be time for the purging fire to come. Its 
people have tried all the pleasures, and they 
have known all the sorrows of life. They have 
passed through almost every earthly experi- 
ence, and many of these when civilization was 
comparatively young upon the earth. They 
seem to be suffering from world weariness, and 
merely consult their desires of the moment. 

It is claimed that Hangchow was the first city 
in China to receive Christian missionaries. At 
least it is known that before the brilliant Sung 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 173 

period, Nestorian fathers had visited the city 
and established missions. This fact is pointed 
to by the historians, along with the fact that 
stone crosses in the interior of China prove 
that Christianity was practised in this country 
as early as the Sixth Century. But Christian- 
ity has made comparatively little headway with 
the masses of Hangchow, despite the centuries 
of labor of the missionaries. It was a difficult 
field to conquer. In the Emperor's lodge at 
"West Lake there is said to be a library contain- 
ing ten thousand volumes. There is a private 
library belonging to the family named Ting 
which is said to be the largest in China, with one 
exception, as it contains eight thousand works 
of about twenty thousand volumes. The super- 
stition is that these libraries are likely to be de- 
stroyed by fire from heaven at any moment. 
Heaven will not permit too many mysteries of 
heaven and earth to be known by men, and these 
mysteries are supposed to be explained in books. 
The libraries are usually a point of attack by 
revolutionists. 

It was after sunset when I finally told the 
coolies to lift my chair to their shoulders. I 
never had seen such a place as Hangchow and 
never expect to see another. It was difficult 
to leave it, not expecting to see it again. It 



174 The Spell of China 

seemed like smelling some rare perfume only 
once in a lifetime, tasting a forbidden nectar, 
or having the veil lifted for a moment on one of 
the rare things visible to human eyes. It 
seemed amazing and untrue. 

As I stood there and gazed on the original of 
earth's formal landscape gardens, Hong enu- 
merated to me the "Beautiful Views" of the 
antique oriental world as we stood where we 
could see them. They are still more beautiful 
than the imitations with which the people of the 
world are familiar. Only centuries of a poeti- 
cally minded people could have given such places 
appropriate names. The Chinese did it, and 
they remain to-day the points of interest which 
the Hangchow gentleman recites to his guests 
as their barge is making an evening "Tour of 
the Lake." They were as follows: 

(1) The Broken Off Bridge of Late Snow. 

(2) Pavilion of the Peaceful Lake and Har- 
vest Moon. 

(3) Three Pools and the Printed Moons. 

(4) Su's Dawning Spring Road. 

(5) The Lagoon of Fish and Flowers. 

(6) The Winding Hall of Fragrant Breezes. 

(7) South Mountain's Evening Bell. 

(8) The Evening Illumination of Thunder 
Peak. 



City of Heaven by Houseboat 175 

(9) Willow Bay Where Eagles Are Heard. 

(10) Two Cloud Piercing Peaks. 

I felt a thrill, but was overfilled with musty 
luxury and decadent beauty and started back to 
the houseboat to begin the trip back to Shanghai 
over Chinese canals. 



CHAPTER VII 

**SON OF THE ocean" 

MWENT back to Shanghai and quickly trans- 
shipped, or at least I considered that I 
had done so until I used the word in con- 
versation with Captain Carnaghan, the jolly 
skipper of the big Yangtze steamer, Poyang, 
which plies between Shanghai and Hankow, 
probably the furthest inland of all important 
ports of the world. He said it would be much 
more appropriate to say that I left a tub for a 
palace, and perhaps that would be a better way 
to express it, because, in reality, I left a house- 
boat on the canals and walked the gangplank 
of a steamer that would compare very favorably 
with the fleet which runs in any coastwise or 
inland lake service in America. I was making 
for the very heart of China, according to the 
map, one of the most backward nations on the 
face of the earth, and yet I was traveling in as 
much luxury and comfort as if I had been going 
from New York to Newport by sea. And the 
Poyang is but one of the many excellent steam- 

176 



"Son of the Ocean" 177 

ers that run up and down the Yangtze, the sec- 
ond largest river in the world, and very much 
more important to the world's people than the 
Amazon, which the geographers usually give a 
few additional miles. 

The exact length of the Yangtze has never 
been determined, owing to the unreliable in- 
formation in regard to its headwaters, which 
rush down from the mountains of Thibet, fol- 
lowing the melting of the snows. Some geogra- 
phers place it at three thousand miles; others 
give it an additional five hundred. None 
doubts, however, that it ranks in importance far 
above the Amazon, having a direct influence 
upon the lives of a vast population, usually reck- 
oned at about two hundred millions. The mag- 
nificent ''Son of the Ocean," ''Child of the 
Sea," or "Eiver of Fragrant Tea Fields," to 
give it only three of its native appellations, is 
the great dividing line between North and South 
China. It drains a fertile basin of six hundred 
thousand square miles, touches nine rich prov- 
inces, and finally finds its way to the sea, where 
its muddy waters are visible for a distance of 
thirty to forty miles. The ocean's tide is felt 
up the river for three hundred miles. It is 
navigable for nearly two thousand miles and 
never closed by ice. The scientists place its 



178 The Spell of China 

watery deposit into the Yellow Sea at some in- 
comprehensibly large figure every second, and 
the silk deposits near its mouth are constantly 
building up fertile islands, one of which, Tsung- 
ming, opposite Wu-sung, contains sixty-five 
square miles and supports a population esti- 
mated at two hundred thousand. 

On both banks of the Yangtze are the richest 
tracts of agricultural land on the surface of the 
globe. It is freely predicted that whatever na- 
tion controls this valley in future will have the 
''balance of power" in the Far East, and it has 
been said that whoever gains control of it might 
rule the world, if its resources were fully de- 
veloped. Certainly it will be one of the most 
vital spots in the world's activities in the future. 
Whether old China will hold her own seems to 
depend much upon China. It belongs to the 
country, but the other nations of the world have 
been casting envious eyes upon it for many 
years. Now they are firmly entrenched and it 
may be a difficult matter to dislodge them. At 
least the Yangtze valley is likely to be the arena 
for one of the greatest world contests of his- 
tory. The gunboats of the nations are anchored 
everywhere along the twistings and turnings of 
the turbulent yellow flood. There are also a few 
Chinese ^nboats, but they seem impotent in 



"Son of the Ocean" 179 

the face of the great frowning engines of war 
that are ostensibly to guard the "interests" of 
the other nations. 

The great day is coming. China is like a 
tremendous creature with a renewed heart ac- 
tion, but paralysis at her extremities. Notori- 
ously her people are not religious. I asked Chi- 
nese repeatedly in various parts of the country 
why it is that all of the temples are in ruin and 
that nobody seems to take any particular inter- 
est in them as they do in Japan ; and the answer 
always was: ** China is no longer religious." 
But I am firmly of the opinion that deep-seated 
religious prejudices are responsible for the pres- 
ent condition of the country round about the 
Yangtze. Observe almost any neglected oppor- 
tunity and you can trace it to religion or to the 
prejudices and superstitions that spring from 
religious teachings and practices. It is gener- 
ally admitted that the teachings of Confucius 
have had a splendid moral effect on the Chinese 
people in ages passed; and it is generally recog- 
nized that Buddhism is responsible for the glori- 
ous days of Chinese art and learning, but the 
people seem to have outgrown both of them and 
together they are passing into a miserable de- 
cline. China seems ready for a great religious 
awakening, as was Arabia when Mahomet came^ 



180 The Spell of China 

See the millions of peasants along the Yang- 
tze poking the earth with sticks and other 
primitive implements that were used in Egypt 
during the days of Moses, according to the 
monuments, ask why they do not employ modern 
implements and reap a bigger harvest for their 
labors and one finds that the priests have 
warned the people against letting the devil enter 
China by means of new-fangled machinery, so 
they struggle and work for a handful of rice, 
miserable in their ignorance, but content that 
they are not tempting the furies. 

The casual visitor never knew that there was 
so much garden in all the world. For five days 
and nights on the rapid steamer, from Shanghai 
to Hankow, one passes through a continuous 
garden spot, fertile, well-watered, and, in many 
localities, capable of bringing forth three crops 
a year. And then it is possible to change steam- 
ers and go on by the same waterway for another 
five days by steamer. Here might be raised the 
foodstuffs for the people of the earth. Instead, 
the millions of people who cultivate the soil are 
ill-fed, dissatisfied, eternally led to revolution, 
and always enduring an existence that would be 
tolerated only by a down-trodden race almost re- 
turned to a state of semi-barbarity. And re- 
ligious prejudice is largely at fault. Back in 



"Son of the Ocean" 181 

the distance, during this long cruise, there are 
chains of hills and mountains, which the pros- 
pectors have found to be veritable treasure 
heaps of minerals. 

*'Do not let the foreign devils dig into the 
hills, for they will disturb the spirits of your 
ancestors and the gods that watch over China, ' ' 
say the priests. 

One would think that the people would soon 
realize that these gods are sleeping and not at- 
tending to their ''watching," but when some 
nation or company gains a concession by 
''squeeze," which is practically the only way 
that anything is obtained in China, every handi- 
cap is placed in the way to prevent or hinder de- 
velopment. In the particular case of one big 
mine the property and concession was bought 
back by the Chinese, who closed it. The spirits 
were being disturbed. Of course, some of the 
big interests are successful. Great institutions 
like the Standard Oil Company have ways of 
doings things where individual effort fails, but 
along this Yangtze it seemed to a thoughtful ob- 
server, at least until he reached Hankow, where 
all the nations are taking everything they can 
get their hands upon, that the Japanese are 
likelier to enforce their demands than any other 
people. They are less inclined to tolerate any 



182 The SpeU of China 

*' nonsense." When Japan makes an agree- 
ment or enters into any sort of a contract with 
China she means business. If anything *' hap- 
pens," she makes China pay. It is well known 
that Japanese agents are working all the time 
with the revolutionists and malcontents of 
southern China. Japan asks something of the 
government at Peking, and when she asks, she 
lets it be known that she is in a position to make 
''trouble" in the South. Consequently, she 
seems to get about what she wants and there 
is no limit to her desires in this territory. 
Japan wants iron ore — much of it. So her ships 
merely sail up the river a little over five hun- 
dred miles to Hwang- shih-kang. Here is the 
famous Tayeh mine, almost at the water's edge. 
In reality, it is not a mine, nor a series of mines, 
but a quarry. The iron ore, which is considered 
of better quality than that of America, Sweden 
or Germany, crops out of the hillside in vast 
quantities. I saw the big Japanese ships an- 
chored side by side at this mine, loading ore for 
the blast furnaces of Nippon. It is said to be 
sixty-seven per cent, pure, and Japan is said to 
receive it for three and one-half yen, or less 
than two dollars a ton, by an agreement with 
the Chinese government. Not long ago trouble 
broke out. The ancestral spirits were being 



1 


^^ 


\ 




'"A 


BSI^' _— ----^^^^^^^^s^B 



"Son of the Ocean" 183 

disturbed, said the priests, whereupon Japan 
merely sent a few of her warships up the river 
and gravely threatened to blow things to atoms 
if there was any more ''foolishness"; and with 
the threat came a demand that the mines be kept 
working full blast. Any other action would 
have made it necessary for Japan to land her 
troops, "to preserve the peace of the Far East." 
Japan believes that Europe will be busy with its 
own affairs for some time to come, and she 
smiles when she says that America is likely to 
be busy also; considering it a heaven-sent op- 
portunity in China, and she is making the best 
of it, her citizens making themselves cordially 
disliked by the Chinese and by the other nations 
which have been trying to throttle China by the 
same means, when there were better facilities 
at home for backing up demands. 

Japan is encroaching more and more upon 
Chinese territory. Her people are conspicuous 
in all of the Yangtze cities and villages, where 
they may be trusted to look after their '* Mas- 
ter's" business. One Japanese frankly talked 
to me about "Der Tag," just as Germans and 
English did in ante-bellum days. They do not 
doubt that the great test of strength is coming, 
and there is no reason to believe that they do 
not think Japgn will one day control China in 



184 The Spell of China 

reality, just as many onlookers believe that she 
does to-day, although by underhand means, usu- 
ally known as diplomacy. 

"It is popularly supposed that China has 
over one hundred million men," I remarked to 
a well-informed Japanese. ''What would hap- 
pen if your government should harness this 
energy into a great fighting machine along mod- 
ern lines. You could rule the world. ' ' 

''Japan knows better than to attempt that," 
he replied. "If China realized her strength, 
she would whip Japan in short order. Japan 
will not teach her to realize this strength, for 
Japan must remain uppermost in the Far East ! 
China must be kept in ignorance of the reali- 
ties." 

Although the trip up the Yangtze is started 
at Shanghai, this great cosmopolitan city is situ- 
ated on the Whangpoo Eiver, fully thirteen 
miles from where the rivers unite near Wusung, 
and it is necessary to sail towards the sea be- 
fore the ship's bow is turned inland for the 
voyage upstream. Owing to the great sand- 
bars constantly forming in the Yangtze near 
Tsung-ming Island, passenger steamers usually 
leave Shanghai at midnight or after, for the 
purpose of arriving in the shallow districts at 
daylight. Here, however, the river is thirty to 



"Son of the Ocean" 185 

forty miles in width, and one realizes the truth 
of Marco Polo's assertion that it is more like 
a sea than a river. For a considerable length 
of time, land is not visible, but finally a pagoda 
on a distant island comes to view, the banks of 
the river are narrowing, and at a distance of 
one hundred sixty-seven miles from Shanghai, 
the boat stops at the city of Chin-kiang, which is 
at the junction of the Grand Canal and the 
Yangtze. It is an important treaty port, one 
of the first opened after the British besieged 
the lower ports of the river during the Opium 
War. 

As a result of this war China consented to 
open five ports to foreign trade: Canton, 
Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo and Shanghai, beside 
ceding Hongkong to England, so the date of 
1842 is usually looked upon as the beginning of 
China's trading with the nations of the world, 
because over seventy ports have been opened 
since that time, but it is not correct, because 
English and French traders had obtained a foot- 
hold in China early in the Eighteenth Century, 
and there was intercourse with Europe through 
the Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch navigators 
as early as the Sixteenth Century. The Chinese 
are born merchants, and there is reason to be- 
lieve that they have been traders with other 



186 The SpeU of China 

nations for many centuries, despite imperial 
edicts which prohibited intercourse with foreign- 
ers. It is on record that the Chinese carried on 
somewhat extensive commercial operations with 
western Asia as early as the Third Century b. c. 
The southern ports of China were trading 
with Arabia and India in the early years of the 
Christian era. 

Chin-kiang, with its population of two hun- 
dred thousand, is the first of the important ports 
in the voyage upstream and it is typical of doz- 
ens of them, where the steamers tie up to float- 
ing hulks, anchored in the deep water, by means 
of which passengers and cargo are taken on 
or discharged. Looking ahead, one sees a clus- 
ter of white buildings with red-tiled roofs, al- 
most like a Spanish city in appearance, except- 
ing for the pagoda, which frequently towers 
over other structures and seems to brood over 
the community as the best preserved relic of 
that day when China considered herself mis- 
tress of the world. Hereabouts begins the vast 
plain that is one of the beautiful garden spots 
of the world. Here also comes to view the re- 
sults of what is known as the Taiping Rebellion, 
one of the monstrous uprisings of all history, 
which struck a staggering blow to the whole 
Yangtze Valley, from which it has never re- 



'^Son of the Ocean" 187 

covered. Off the bank of the river from Chin- 
kiang are what were sacred islands, richly en- 
dowed by imperial favor, with temples, shrines 
and carved gateways. Here were amassed col- 
lections of books, equal in importance to the im- 
perial libraries at Peking or Hangchow. In the 
days of Marco Polo there were two hundred 
priests officiating in the sacred structures, but 
the Taipings came and the islands have been 
the scene of later warfare, so that to-day they 
seem to be anything but sacred, although it is 
said that a few priests still dwell among the 
ruins of burned hbraries and fallen altars. 

The Taiping Eebellion which devastated 
whole provinces, razed great cities, which have 
never been rebuilt, and caused the ruthless and 
unpitying slaughter of countless peaceful men, 
women and children, the reign of a barbarous 
band of brigands, which extended over fifteen 
years, had its inception in the teaching of a 
Christian Protestant missionary, who with some 
of his co-workers believed in the beginning that 
it marked the religious upheaval of China and 
the dawn of the conversion of the vast popula- 
tion to Christianity. After the Opium War 
there was famine in the land, and the people, in 
great masses, seemed to be expecting some great 
deliverer who could promise them relief. They 



188 The Spell of China 

believed very willingly that this Savior had 
arisen in the person of Hung Hsin-chuan, a na- 
tive of Kwang-si, South China. Hung had re- 
ceived Christian instruction, and although he 
never professed conversion, he wrote and cir- 
culated various tracts in which he made liberal 
use of Scriptural references, signing them the 
** Heavenly Prince" and in them declaring that 
he was the ''Elder Brother of Jesus Christ." 
In a few months a large following had flocked 
to his banners, which are said to have displayed 
the Cross as a symbol of the "Kingdom of 
Great Peace," Tai-sing Tien-kuo, which he was 
to establish. In a comparatively short time, 
he had surrounded himself with a large organ- 
ized band of brigands and peasants. They 
swept over the surrounding country, burning 
cities and murdering the inhabitants who did not 
join them. Hung issued edicts that his follow- 
ers should not shave their heads in the Manchu 
fashion, for he claimed a divine mission in over- 
throwing the Manchu dynasty and his band came 
to be known as the ''Hair Eebels." He enfran- 
chised slaves, prohibited concubinage, prostitu- 
tion and the binding of feet. In some of these 
things the missionaries recognized the results 
of Christian teaching; and hopes arose that 
even from the appalling disaster good might 



"Son of the Ocean" 189 

come. The missionary who had been his in- 
structor visited him at length, but was soon 
made aware of the real character of the man. 
He found Hung surrounded by a numerous 
harem, and found that he was basking in de- 
bauchery as the results of his frightful con- 
quests. 

The rebellion spread like wildfire and the gov- 
ernment seemed to be unable to check it in any 
way. Finally, it had reached sixteen provinces, 
and Hung had established himself at the ancient 
capital city, Nanking, where he ruled with al- 
most imperial authority for many years. He 
elevated his peasant followers to princely po- 
sitions and rewarded the most desperate brig- 
ands with commands of generals. He did not 
go out at the head of his troops during a period 
of nine years, but trusted to his subordinates, 
who were assured of honors and authority, in 
keeping with the devastation for which they 
were directly responsible. For fifteen years 
Hung maintained his sway, most of the time 
behind the great walls of Nanking, until Chi- 
nese forces, under the command of several of- 
ficers, famous at home, but the best known of 
whom was Li Hung-chang and General Gordon 
with his ''Ever Victorious Army," defeated 
him. He came by his death as a result of drink- 



190 The Spell of China 

ing poison rather than to submit to the hu- 
miliation of capture. Throughout the entire 
Yangtze Valley one is constantly reminded of 
this frightful Eeign of Terror. Fields now lie 
idle, or are under cultivation, where once stood 
large cities ; and within city walls there are vast 
tracts of land, either littered with the remains 
of burned buildings or structures that have 
gone to ruin as the result of Taiping raids upon 
former inhabitants. 

Chin-kiang was destroyed by the ^' hairy reb- 
els," but the citizens who escaped massacre and 
large numbers who rushed here from the small 
towns and villages in the neighborhood, after 
the overthrow of the fanatics at Nanking, 
quickly endeavored to make this commercial 
port profit by the downfall of cities further up 
the river. Large sections of the city were re- 
built and an era of prosperity seemed likely; 
but immediately there was a serious check to 
progress caused by anti-foreign demonstra- 
tions. Few river passengers leave the boat at 
Chin-kiang, reserving shore excursions for 
other towns and cities where there is more of 
old China remaining to claim attention. 

As the boat steams along the yellow current 
beyond this treaty port, it passes the city of 
Yangchow, but the celebrated seat of the Em- 



"Son of the Ocean" 191 

peror Yang-ti is not visible as it lies too far in- 
land. It is a city of at least one hundred thou- 
sand inhabitants, and native poetry and history 
celebrates it as one of the gay resorts of the 
olden times, whence came men of wealth and 
official position to enjoy its pleasures. The 
Chinese declare that Yangchow was so fascinat- 
ing that the stranger who entered its gates was 
unable to leave until he had squandered his last 
coin. 

Over by the Grand Canal, and beyond human 
vision from the deck of a river steamer, lies 
Hwai-yin, which became immortal because it 
was the birthplace of General Han Hsin, a hero 
whose life is held up to Chinese boys as a worthy 
example to follow, one whose name is not over- 
looked in the musty and over-crowded Chinese 
Pantheon. Han was the poor boy who made it 
possible for his master to ascend the imperial 
throne. It is recorded that although he was 
the son of peasants and was very poor, he felt 
that he had a superior *' mission" to perform 
even when he was a mere lad. Thus, when he 
was almost famished, he sat on the bank of a 
stream and fished to relieve his hunger. But 
no fish came to his net and he was obliged to 
beg for food from an old woman returning from 
her day's work in the fields. She gave him 



192 The Spell of China 

food, but he did not thank her for it in the cus- 
tomary manner. Instead, he ate her food and 
then made an eloquent speech in which he prom- 
ised her that she would be hberally rewarded 
for her charity when he became rich and power- 
ful. Such oratory was not likely to make Han 
popular in his native village, and it is recorded 
that he was the butt of the jests of the other 
boys, but seems not to have cared and continued 
to have absolute confidence in himself and his 
future. He obtained a sword, which he carried 
at his side as if he were a military officer, and 
this prompted frequent challenges from the 
boys, armed with sticks and clubs. One day, as 
if he had been a conquering hero, he went to a 
petty ruler, Han-wang and offered his services, 
but he met with prompt rejection, which might 
have discouraged the ordinary youth, but it only 
aroused Han to renewed activity. Spurned by 
Han-wang he went to the ruler's most active 
rival, who became Emperor Kao-tsu (206-195 
B. c.) and made a similar proposal. Kao-tsu 
gave him a commission immediately and soon 
made him chief general of his forces. Han 
proved himself to be an unusual strategist and 
soon subdued so many kingdoms that he was in 
the main responsible for his master's elevation 
to the imperial throne. Kao-tsu made him a 




■•^. 




"Son of the Ocean" 193 

* ' King, ' ' but the emperor soon died, and listen- 
ing to a court intrigue that accused Han of high 
treason, the widow-empress condemned him to 
death. It was almost with his last breath that 
Han gave utterance to the words that have been 
famous in China for two thousand years : "As 
a good hound is killed and eaten when there 
are no more hares to catch, or as the bow and 
arrows are laid away, when there are no more 
birds to shoot, so I am removed, there being no 
more need of me, as empire is at peace. ' ' 

The Poyang reached Nanking in the early 
morning, and the city seemed to rise like a vision 
of antiquity from the gray mists that hung over 
the landscape. Junk and sampan folk were 
astir, and, as usual, were making a loud clatter 
at their rowing and cooking. Many people were 
visible on the bank, either dipping up water, or 
silently watching the large steamer plowing 
through the current towards the hulks that are 
anchored in deep water, as a pontoon pathway 
for disembarking passengers. But the splen- 
did old capital city lay over behind its walls, 
which are thirty-two miles in circumference and 
thirty to fifty feet in height. It was impossible 
to gain the slightest idea of the magnificent 
stronghold, **the city of magnificent distances,'* 
which from outward appearances had been such 



194 The SpeU of China 

a fitting capital for a colossal hermit empire. A 
Chinese city is not one of towers and minarets, 
which, as for example, Jerusalem, pierces the 
skyline with tiled or gilded domes and is a thing 
of miforgettable beauty when seen from afar; 
but as one approaches great walls, like those of 
Nanking, there is the fascination of mystery. 
What lies beyond those seemingly forbidding 
barriers'? What landmarks of the ancient 
tragedies and comedies there enacted still re- 
main? What manner of people are there to-day 
in the stupendous inclosure, which from a West- 
ern point of view seems almost like being 
within the walls of a glorified penitentiary? 

Nanking is slightly over two hundred miles 
from Shanghai and may be reached by rail, but 
no tourist who has a couple of days' leisure 
should deny himself the pleasure of approach- 
ing the ancient stronghold from the muddy cur- 
rent that almost washes its walls. It has been 
a treaty port since 1897, and is supposed to 
have about three hundred thousand inhabitants 
at the present time. It was the seat of the 
imperial government of six dynasties between 
the Fourth and Sixth Centuries of the Christian 
era, and later became the capital of the Mings 
in 1368. It has had several names during the 
passing of the centuries, the present one having 



"Son of the Ocean" 195 

been conferred by the Ming emperor, Yung-lo 
(1403-1424) to designate it as the Southern 
Capital, when he moved the imperial seat to 
Peking. It was captured by the Taipings in 
1853 and remained in their hands for eleven 
years, suffering almost as much as the other 
cities, which were not the temporary residence 
of the "Heavenly Prince." Laid in ruins, ex- 
cepting the walls and a few districts occupied 
by the Taipings themselves, it has staggered 
under the blow, despite the courageous efforts 
of its people to regain lost prestige. Follow- 
ing the fall of the Manchu dynasty and the 
birth of the present republic, large portions of 
the country were in favor of returning the cap- 
ital to Nanking, and it is a popular belief that 
this would have been done had it not been for 
the opinion prevailing in diplomatic circles that 
Peking, being familiar to the world aS the 
Chinese capital, should remain the capital be- 
cause Nanking was not familiar to the people 
of foreign countries. This would have brought 
to Nanking another period of prosperity and 
fame, but there is likelihood that the future of 
the city will depend upon its commerce, rather 
than from again becoming the residence of the 
ruling classes. 

Boats usually remain at the hulks near the 



196 The Spell of China 

city wall about two hours, affording even the 
hurried Yangtze tripper the opportunity to take 
a rikisha ride within the walls, which are pierced 
by thirteen gates, about four of which are 
usually kept closed. Such a procedure, how- 
ever, is not to be recommended. One may 
spend two or three days here enjoyably and 
comfortably. There is a first-class hotel man- 
aged by an Englishman, who will offer much 
valuable advice in regard to itineraries, provide 
guides who speak English, and assure his guests 
a well-cooked dinner, and spacious and clean 
room at the close of the day's journey. 

And it is a day's journey, or several days* 
journey, to and from the various points of in- 
terest within and beyond the walls. Perhaps 
there are more sites than sights, but all of them 
will be of great interest to the casual visitor or 
the student of China's history. There are sev- 
eral palaces and temples, numerous shrines and 
monuments, some of which are familiar to West- 
erners by some date or personage of historical 
significance; but even more fascinating are 
those quaint corners and spaces concerning 
which the guides spin their fanciful versions of 
ancient myth and legend. For example, we 
halt beside the pond into which the great 
scholar, Yen-lu-kung, liberated the tortoise and 



*'Son of the Ocean" 197 

fish, instead of having them killed and cooked 
for his table. Yen was murdered on account 
of a court intrigue that implicated him in a 
treason to his country, but, as is commonly the 
case in China, he received posthumous honors, 
when his name was changed to "Prince of Cul- 
ture and Loyalty," and a shrine has been set 
up near the pond in recognition of his achieve- 
ments. One hears a hundred of these folk tales, 
some of which have a slight foundation in his- 
tory, but whether they have, or merely spring 
to the mind of the narrator as he recites them, 
they provide an unmistakable sidelight on 
Chinese character, and always are more inter- 
esting than the exact information of guide- 
books. Gone is the wonderful Porcelain Tower, 
Lin-li-ta, which rose to nine stories, a height of 
two hundred sixty feet, and was accounted one 
of the beautiful structures of China. The Taip- 
ings destroyed it, but there remains the lake, 
Mo-tsou-hu, two miles in circumference, where 
the first Ming emperor once played a game for 
a wager and, according to report, won it. 
Here also resided the beautiful lady, Mo-tsou 
(No Sorrow) whose portraits are still offered 
for sale, and whose biography, along with the 
history of the lake, has been written in two large 
volumes. 



198 The Spell of China 

It is a long drive to the Tombs of the Ming 
Emperors, much of which is uncomfortable, ow- 
ing to the bad condition of the paved roads, 
and visitors going to Peking will do better to 
eliminate this journey to the avenue of stone 
animals that line the way and the Tombs them- 
selves and go to Nankou, beyond which more 
marvelous carvings and constructions for a 
similar purpose provide one of the notable side- 
trips of the whole Chinese tour. But a drive 
into the country around Nanking will bring its 
rewards to one who by the time he reaches this 
part of the country is likely to feel himself 
drawn by the oriental spell and is anxious to 
see as much as possible of the Chinese who has 
not come into contact with Westerners as in the 
cities of the coast. Of much interest hereabouts 
are the large duck farms, penetrated by small 
canals, where the large broods are tended by 
picturesque "duckherds," whose charges are 
frequently quick to detect ''strangers" in the 
persons of occidentals and give their masters 
as much trouble as a herd of cattle gives a cow- 
boy on a Texan prairie. The region around 
Nanking is noted for its pi-tan. Do not know 
what pi-tan isf In plain, or vulgar, English, 
pi-tan is rotten eggs, or eggs that are the super- 
lative degree of rotten. They may have been 



^^Son of the Ocean^^ 199 

simply rotten early in the days of the process 
of evolution, through which they have passed, 
but they were packed in a mixture of lime, clay, 
rice hulls and salt. The white of the egg solidi- 
fies and becomes a greenish-black color. They 
are highly prized by the epicures in all parts 
of China ; duck eggs are largely used, and, pre- 
sumably, are stronger than hen's eggs. The 
Chinese likes ''strength" in his food. Some- 
times this strength becomes terrifying to oc- 
cidental nostrils ; but perhaps occidentals do not 
know what is good to eat. I am firmly of the 
opinion that this is the oriental belief, and more, 
I surmise that more than half of the Chinese 
are convinced that occidentals are raving mad. 
It depends so much upon the point of view. 

After leaving Nanking one comes shortly to 
Wu-hu, connected by an eighty -mile canal with 
Tai-ping-hsien. Vast quantities of rice and 
other agricultural products arrive here from 
the surrounding country for distribution to 
other cities. The Chinese have looked upon 
agriculture as the basis of society from the 
earliest times, and in these fertile plains of the 
Yangtze find ample proof that the theory is cor- 
rect. ''Have you had your rice to-day?" is a 
common form of greeting in place of the usual 
occidental comment about the weather. Meth- 



200 The SpeU of China 

ods of cultivation, however, should be improved 
everywhere, and as the Chinese farmers are un- 
willing to follow the advice of Western teachers 
they are being reached by agricultural schools 
and associations at the heads of which are na- 
tives who have received foreign instruction or 
experience. 

The next city is Ta-tung, with not more than 
sixty thousand inhabitants, but a point for dis- 
tributing the products of several large cities a 
few miles inland, which are reached by a famous 
highway. Soon An-king comes into sight, a 
city with a half-million inhabitants and com- 
mercially important, although containing noth- 
ing likely to be of interest to the tourist. Just 
beyond the city, however, the steamer comes 
close to Hsiau-ku-shan (Little Orphan Island) 
which appears to be a great detached rock, ris- 
ing perhaps three hundred feet above the sur- 
face of the river. The Yangtze flood swirls 
around its base, and approached from down- 
stream it seemed to be uninhabited. Like other 
islands, however, it was sacred to the people of 
the early days, and is said to have basked in 
imperial favor, having been richly endowed by 
the mother of an emperor, much as the mother 
of a Eoman emperor expended vast sums of 
money upon the holy places of Judea. Facing 



"Son of the Ocean" 201 

upstream, are large temples and monasteries, 
whose red-tile roofs stand out prominently 
against the grayish-black shelf of rock on which 
they are perched. The buildings are occupied 
by a few monks, who cling to ancient beliefs, but 
the visitors are few in these modern times and 
the inmates are said to be very poor. Probably 
there are steps and staircases carved in -the clitf 
under the shelf supporting the buildings, but 
we could not see them and wondered how the 
friars reach their perch, or how they are en- 
abled to communicate with the ''mainland." 
Captain Carnaghan said he had planned a sur- 
prise for his passengers ; as we approached the 
side of the islet he tooted the steamer whistle 
sharply and looked to see the ''thousands of 
birds ' ' fly out from the island at the unexpected 
noise. Perhaps a dozen of them left their roost- 
ing places, but the great number had heard the 
whistle too often to be frightened and declined 
to fly for exhibition purposes. 

There are many legends connected with the 
sacred island, one of which has to do with the 
cormorants, which find the region good fishing 
grounds, particularly where the waters splash 
at the base. It is related that a beautiful 
woman was caught in the Yangtze current and 
carried downstream to the island. It was in 



202 The Spell of China 

the early days, before there were boats on the 
river, or inhabitants on its banks. She did not 
starve, however, as the cormorants brought her 
food, as the ravens brought manna to Elijah; 
and although the legend is silent in regard to 
the manner of her death, it seems hkely that she 
died of homesickness, probably at a ripe old age, 
which is the only time for a legendary character 
to die. 

After Ilu-kow, a little city which has consid- 
erable trade with ports of Lake Po-yang, on the 
sloping banks of which some of the most highly 
prized tea of China is grown, the steamer ar- 
rives at Kiu-kiang, a name fairly familiar to 
Westerners, because the famous pottery of the 
entire district is usually known by that name. 
Local history records that the city possessed 
eight hundred eight temples at one time; but 
many of them, like Marco Polo's bridges at 
Hangchow, have completely disappeared. There 
remain several that repay a visit, but the com- 
mercial life of Kiu-kiang seems to be more im- 
portant than the ancient fanes. Notably at 
King-teh-chen, only a short distance away, pot- 
tery has been made from the earliest times, 
beautiful pieces that are to-day the most prized 
specimens of Chinese art in foreign museums. 
Here was made the ancient pottery for the Chi- 



^^Son of the Ocean" 203 

nese court that inspired the earliest Jesuit visi- 
tors to write lengthy descriptions of the manu- 
facture, which gave an impetus to the art in Eu- 
rope, where attempts, most of them unsuccess- 
ful, were made to duplicate the colors and de- 
signs. Small value is placed upon the modem 
product of many ovens, but the process of manu- 
facture is jealously guarded and foreigners are 
not welcome in the region, although many of 
them go armed with official letters that open 
all doors, much to the disgust of the workers, 
who have the reputation for being a riotous 
crew, easily led to outbreaks, which hold local 
officials in the constant position of apologists 
to some one who has been ''insulted." 

Captain Carnaghan had two beautiful vases, 
which he had purchased from an itinerant 
dealer at Kiu-kiang, who spread his wares on 
the landing-stage and begged for purchasers. 
Certainly they were of modern manufacture, but 
in imitation of ancient pottery, and exactly the 
article that brings a large sum in the American 
market. It is likely the pieces would have been 
held for about sixty dollars each in this coun- 
try. "They cost me thirty cents each at Kiu- 
kiang," laughed the skipper. *'But this is not 
so remarkable. Over there is the district 
where these came from, the tea-growers are said 



204 The Spell of China 

to receive about two cents a pound for the leaves 
they sell to natives. Money seems to have a 
great purchasing value at this point." This 
seemed to be encouraging and we watched the 
deck of the hulk closely, but no pottery sales- 
man appeared while we were in port. A boy 
who had brought fruit or other provisions to 
the steamer, held in his hand a beautiful tray 
inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and gazed with en- 
vious eyes upon the flashy colors of a fifteen 
cent American magazine which I had been read- 
ing and which remained in my hands. I offered 
to buy his tray, but he was adamant, and al- 
though he was probably in sore need of money 
he would not sell it. When I offered to ex- 
change the magazine for the tray, however, he 
seemed to think that he had struck a great bar- 
gain with the "foreign devil" and quickly ran 
away with the magazine, leaving the tray in my 
possession, fearful that I would change my mind 
and repent of the bargain. 

The steamer plowed into the water of Lake 
Po-yang, the second largest lake in China, just 
as night was falling. We could see thousands 
of twinkling lights from the cities on its banks, 
but did not visit and could not see any of them, 
with their swarming population. Po-yang is 
eighty miles long at one point, and in summer it 



"Son of the Ocean'' 205 

is deep as it is filled by the Yangtze, swollen 
by the spring floods ; but in winter it sometimes 
falls so that a water depth of three to five feet 
makes navigation impossible. The Yangtze 
flows through the lake as the Jordan flows 
through the Sea of Galilee, and Po-yang has 
been held in great reverence from the earliest 
times. Its spirits have received worship and 
sacrifice for many centuries, while an epistle 
from the emperor was read at the temple and 
burned each year, a ceremony not unlike that 
at the sacred lakes of Thibet. 

Wu-sueh, the first port reached in the Yang- 
tze trip after the steamer has again entered 
the river, is known principally as one of the 
markets for salt, which is a government mo- 
nopoly in China, and in some districts said to 
be held at such a high price that it is considered 
a luxury. The government appoints a number 
of salt merchants in a district, and none other 
may sell it. The country is divided into ten 
districts and the price is regulated in each by 
the provincial governor. The price is not uni- 
form, but is supposed to fluctuate in response 
to' demand and supply, but is likelier to be dic- 
tated by the governor, who may be depended 
upon to extract as much ** squeeze" as possi- 
ble. 



206 The Spell of China 

The Ta-yeh mines, mentioned early in this 
chapter as being chiefly in the hands of the Jap- 
anese, are connected by a nineteen mile railway 
with the port of Hwang-shih-kang, which is five 
hundred and twenty-eight niiles al)6ve Shanghai. 
Japanese steamers are always lying in the river 
at this point, loading the precious ores for the 
furnaces of Nippon. While mining is still con- 
ducted in most primitive manner, when in the 
hands of the Chinese, who are not in favor of 
penetrating far into the earth, because, as be- 
fore mentioned, the excavations are likely to 
disturb the peace of ancestors, it is certain that 
mines have been worked for thousands of years 
in this country so rich in precious ores. It has 
been proved that the Chinese knew the use of 
copper as early as the time of Huang-Ti (2698 
B. c.) and mining laws were in force as early as 
1122 B. c. In mining, as in practically every- 
thing else, the Chinese claim originality. For 
example, they are now pointing to the fact that 
a celebrated Taoist teacher recorded that he 
spoke his message into a box and ordered it de- 
livered to a disciple, who resided at a great dis- 
tance from him. What was this, they ask, but 
the Western phonograph? 

Hwang-chow, a city of thirty thousand people, 
is unimportant, save for the fact that it was 



^^Son of the Ocean" 207 

the home of Su-Tung-po, an essayist who lived 
a thousand years ago. After passing Kiu-kiang 
the scenery changes and hills sometimes sug- 
gest those magnificent gorges that lie many 
miles upstream and are reached only by trans- 
shipping at the port of Hankow. Time permit- 
ting, one should go nearer the headwaters of 
the magnificent river to Ichang, a trip of three 
days, only to find it possible to transship again 
to a ship of lighter draught for further progress 
on the bosom of the same ' ' Son of the Ocean. ' ' 
The trip abounds in sensational delights, even 
perhaps a quarrel with the unruly natives who 
are constantly encouraged in their anti-foreign 
sentiment by pamphlets from the literati, and 
who despise every one and everything foreign. 
The ports are being opened to international 
trade, however, and the fertile lands of the 
Upper Yangtze, with their teeming millions of 
population, are slowly but certainly coming to a 
realization that China's days of sleep and isola- 
tion are over; a great fact that seems to pene- 
trate inland in a leisurely manner and against 
tremendous obstacles. If one leaves the 
steamer at Hankow, however, rapidly becoming 
the * * Chicago of China," and glances at the map, 
he will see that he has reached the heart of 
the wonderful country, and in reaching Hankow 



208 The Spell of China 

he has had most of the experiences of the Yang- 
tze voyage, with the exception of the grandeur 
of the gorges. The cities further upstream 
seem to be repetitions of those encountered on 
the banks of the yellow serpent that brings life 
to so many millions of the sons and daughters 
of earth. The average visitor will not care to 
go beyond Hankow, although the way has been 
paved for him to do so with comfort, conven- 
ience and no danger; and the opportunity 
should not be passed lightly, if one has the time 
and inclination. 




CHAPTER VIII 

CHINA ^S TRIPLE HEART 

JHERE the Han-shui river joins the Yang- 
tze, about six hundred miles above 
Shanghai, there is an amazing popula- 
tion, which the amiable Abbe Hue estimated at 
eight millions in 1845. Later estimates have 
reduced the figure considerably, but there seems 
to be no better reason for accepting one as 
authentic more than another. The Westerner's 
first thought as he beholds the miles of junks in 
the water and the swarming humanity on the 
shores, is that he had never before believed 
there were so many people in any given spot 
on earth's surface. For the territory covered 
by the three great cities of Hankow, Han-yang 
and Wu-chang is not great; but one's impres- 
sion is that every square yard of this territory 
is the "home" of a numerous family. Every 
boat in the river seems overcrowded and the 
land population pushes down to the water's 
edge, so that many families actually live on 
mats or boards spread over the tops of sticks 



210 The Spell of China 

which are poked into the soft mud. Yet the dis- 
trict has suffered disasters that have cost count- 
less lives within the last few years. In modern 
times the Taipings were here, and it is recorded 
that miles of junks were in flames at one time 
and the swords and fire-brands were at work on 
land. Even so late as 1911, there were desper- 
ate struggles here between the revolutionists 
and imperial forces. The native city of Han- 
kow seemed to be almost totally destroyed, but 
it is being rapidly rebuilt. Loss of property 
and countless lives seem to retard and check the 
growth of the place for a brief time ; but soon 
again the streets are filled with a population as 
vast as before. The Chinese call the three cities 
*'The Collecting Place For Nine Provinces,'* 
and, whatever befalls them, they seem to be 
eternal. 

Population and prosperity seem to drift first 
to one and then to the others. Thus when Han- 
kow was only a fishing village, Wu-chang, which 
seems of minor importance to-day, was a cele- 
brated city. In fact, Wu-chang had attained 
considerable prominence as early as the Third 
Century of the Christian era. But just now the 
tide has turned to Hankow and it has assumed 
proportions that are comparable to Yokohama 
in Japan in much the same length of time and 



^^^^i^^H^H^E ^ 1 


i 



China's Triple Heart 211 

for the same reason. And, in many ways, Han- 
kow is one of the delightful cities of the vast 
republic. It is one of the cosmopolitan cities of 
the globe. Large concessions are given over to 
the British, Eussian, French and Japanese. A 
foreign census shows that nearly two hundred 
Americans make it their home. Verily, it is a 
vast rendezvous for East and West. The peo- 
ples of the world do not assemble for social rea- 
sons as at Cairo, or for religious purposes as at 
Jerusalem, but for the transaction of business. 
It is supposed that produce passing through 
Hankow each season amounts to fully Taels 
60,000,000. In the streets one meets the people 
of practically every part of earth ; and they all 
seem to be occupied with business, most of 
which, directly or indirectly, has to do with the 
vast quantity of tea that is assembled here for 
shipment in every direction. London held a mo- 
nopoly over this vast product at one time and it 
was not uncommon for twenty or thirty steam- 
ers to be in port for the purpose of taking on 
the cargo; but Chinese tea is out of favor in 
England, where the leaves of Ceylon and India 
are preferred. The market has drifted to 
America, Siberia and Eussia, and in season the 
experts from those countries come to Hankow to 
purchase every quality from the first young 



212 The Spell of China 

leaves of May to the final pickings, which are 
pulverized and become an important staple in 
the Northern countries, where the dust is not 
only consumed with hot water as a beverage, but 
mixed with dough to give a flavor to bread. At 
times the newcomer feels that Hankow is an 
outpost of Eussia. One hears Russian in the 
crowded streets, sees Russian signs over shops 
and is often recommended to a Russian bank 
when concerned over the inevitable tangles 
caused by the coin in circulation. 

It was in this neighborhood that General Li 
Yuan-hung, the president of China at the pres- 
ent time, distinguished himself as a strategist. 
Li was proclaimed vice-president at the fall of 
the Manchu dynasty, but he remained at Wu- 
chang at the head of the army, when he was in- 
duced to take up his residence in Peking, and 
succeeded to the executive chair on the death of 
President Yuan Shi-Kai in 1916. 

There is a first-class foreign hotel at Hankow 
and although the city is not one of guide-book 
** sights," it is worth a few days' visit, in the 
course of which one may ramble at leisure 
around the native quarters, take a ferry to Wu- 
chang, at the present time notable for its cotton 
mills, to Han-yang, where are the arsenal and 
colossal iron works, or chartering a small boat, 



China's Triple Heart 213 

drift around the waterline of the three cities 
and behold sights which no tourist is likely to 
have encountered elsewhere in his travels. 

One feels that he is beginning to arrive in 
Hankow long before the steamer ties up to its 
terminal hulk along the Bund, where there is a 
wide boulevard, shaded by large trees, and along 
which the foreign concessions are located, with 
the characteristic architecture of Berlin, Petro- 
grad, Paris and London. Here seems to be the 
central pivot of the nations ' grapple for the pos- 
session of China's resources and trade. The 
river banks display huge signs in English, 
French, Eussian and German, marking the 
plants of tremendous concession-grabbers. It 
is as if one passed along a wide avenue in which 
rival showmen announced the superiority of 
their attractions over all competitors. It 
is confidently believed by careful observers that 
here will occur one of the great scenes of the 
almost inevitable international tangle arising 
from a desire of each nation to ''protect its in- 
terests" and attempt to see to it that no other 
nation receives a larger share of what all West- 
ern governments seem to consider spoils, which 
must be apportioned among them. 

There are only two or three streets of conse- 
quence in Hankow where one may drive an auto- 



214 The Spell of China 

I — I 

mobile or carriage. The motive power is the 
coolie. He swarms the streets day and night, 
either pulling rikishas, or carrying the great 
bundles and bales of commerce. Some of the 
tea depots have a constant line of coolies pass- 
ing between their doors and ships on the river, 
which may be five or six blocks away. These 
lines are crossed by others carrying the im- 
ports, or the local trade. As one sees these 
heavily laden, perspiring and plodding slaves, 
he recalls those figures estimated by modern 
scientists as the number of workers enlisted 
by Egyptian kings when they built their pyra- 
mids. Hankow is in about the same latitude as 
New Orleans or Alexandria, Egypt. The sum- 
mers are hot and the days of the tea harvest al- 
most warm enough it seems to ''fire'* the tea, 
which is cured by other means in the great re- 
ceiving plants. Here a Chinese compradore, in 
charge of perhaps a thousand coolies, told me 
of the origin of tea. It is a well-known fact 
that it was used at a very early date by the Bud- 
dhist monks whose eyes would become weary at 
night, and who might have missed their noc- 
turnal devotional exercises but for deep 
draughts of the hot beverage; but I had never 
heard of the miraculous beginnings of the fra- 
grant shrub, which it seems had to do with 



China's Triple Heart 215 

Daruma, an Indian saint. He endeavored to de- 
vote his life to endless prayer ; but one night he 
became exhausted, fell asleep and did not 
awaken until morning. When he realized what 
had happened, he was so angry that he took a 
sharp knife and cut off his offending eyelids and 
threw them on the ground. And lo ! they had no 
sooner struck the earth than they were trans- 
formed into tea-shrubs, the leaves of which 
should minister to the vigils of holy men. 

When I made inquiry about the time of de- 
parture of trains over the railroad that runs 
between Hankow and Peking I did not receive 
what seemed to be a definite answer, and the 
station, being only a few blocks away, I stopped 
at the iron grating in the principal station of 
the great railway and asked the question: 
*'What time does a train go to Peking 1" 

*'One starts in two hours," grunted the agent. 

*'But how is any one to know that this is the 
case? It is not posted on the schedule at the 
hotel," I complained. 

'*0h, plenty people know," he smiled. 
** Every train is full. If train go before peo- 
ple come to-day, they go to-morrow. That 
makes alia same. Train go every day, once a 
day to Peking now." 

Ordinarily, this would have been plenty of 



216 The Spell of China 

time, but it happened that I had left a part of 
my luggage aboard the Poyang. This was 
anchored some distance away, so I sent word to 
the hotel to send the hand luggage to the sta- 
tion, while I would take care of that which re- 
mained aboard the steamer. And immediately 
the trouble started; * trouble" that seems to be 
serious at the time, but which becomes laugh- 
able when recalled in later days. I made the 
mistake of indicating that I was in a hurry. 
Haste is detested by the Chinese coolie or gen- 
tleman; to the former it is merely ridiculous 
and unnecessary, while to the latter it is vulgar. 
Hankow is practically horseless and likewise 
cartless. Around the landing-stage there 
seemed to be ten thousand coolies, but all of 
them seemed to be engaged. Not one indicated 
the taxi sign ''For Hire" and none paid any 
attention to me when I endeavored to indicate 
to them that they could earn extra money by 
helping me in what seemed to be an aggravating 
situation. Finally the chief steward of the ship 
shouted something from the deck, probably that 
a rich prize awaited the man who would carry 
my trunk on a bamboo pole a few blocks to the 
railway station. Ordinarily, they would have 
been carrying heavy bales of tea for a few cents 
an hour ; the trunk was no heavier, but the trunk 



China's Triple Heart 217 

belonged to a white man, and he indicated 
''hurry," the most objectionable word in a 
coolie's vocabulary. 

Four stalwart coolies presented themselves, 
however, doubtless having agreed upon their 
demands. Also, I was charitably inclined. 
They were helping me out of a difficulty and I 
thought that instead of giving them a few cents, 
their rightful wages, I would reward them for 
appreciated services with a nice silver dollar. 
After all, why not be liberal with these poor 
slaves and give them the opportunity to think 
of a white man's generosity*? My thoughts 
quickly changed, however, as the four took up 
their places on the deck and declined to touch 
the trunk until I had paid them in advance. I 
smilingly offered them the dollar, expecting a 
reciprocal smile of gratitude. But they sneered 
and made a move to leave the ship and return 
to the carrying of tea bales. Two ! I doubled 
my generosity, while cursing them mentally. 
Still they refused, however, and to make a re- 
cital of the conversation as brief as possible it 
may be truthfully recorded that I paid six dol- 
lars to have a trunk transferred on a bamboo 
pole from the river bank to the railway station ! 
It was doubtless the highest wages ever ob- 
tained by coolies in China since the birth of the 



218 The SpeU of China 

first Ming emperor or before. But even the ig- 
norant coolie is no fool. He saw my necessity 
and he capitalized himself. 

Arrived at the station, I visited the ticket 
window, only to learn again that ''very much 
people go to Peking to-day," so it was necessary 
to place me in a sleeping compartment already 
partially occupied by two Chinese. Nothing is 
more likely to terrorize a Westerner than to be 
quartered in this fashion, and nobody is likelier 
to know it than the seller of tickets. But I took 
my pasteboard and started for the baggage- 
room. The coolies had already deposited the 
trunk near the scales. ''Baggage very, very 
heavy," mourned the baggage agent. I pro- 
tested that it was the identical baggage that had 
been checked free elsewhere. * ' Very heavy ' ' he 
repeated, paying no attention to what I said 
and telling the coolies to put it on the scales. 
He threw up his arms and chuckled when he 
saw the weights rise into the air. "That cost 
you eight dollars to Peking," he said. The 
guide books say that each passenger is entitled 
to two hundred pounds of free baggage. But 
the court of last resort, under the circumstances, 
ruled against me and the guidebooks, knowing 
that I was playing against time, a fact which 
he had doubtless learned from the coolies. The 



China's Triple Heart 219 

train was due to leave in ten minutes. Did I 
desire to have the baggage put aboard the train? 
If so, I could hand him eight dollars and the 
coolies would take it to the baggage van. Yes, 
I paid it, eight dollars excess, on slightly over 
two hundred pounds. 

Arrived at the car, the conductor inspected 
my tickets. Could he not give me a compart- 
ment that would be *'all white"?- He could 
make no answer, until the train started ; at least 
he said so, but two dollars smuggled to his palm 
quickly opened a compartment that had not 
been sold, and the ticket agent knew that it had 
not been sold. Presumably, the conductor and 
ticket-seller are obliged to divide ''earnings" at 
the end of each round trip. 

In many ways this railroad is a mighty 
achievement ; in others, it is to laugh. It was a 
feat to put down the rails and keep them down 
in the interior of China. The Chinese do not 
like railroads as a general proposition, or they 
say they do not, although they patronize them 
liberally enough, once they are in operation; 
but they have a way of ripping up the rails 
after the builders are gone, if they are suffi- 
ciently aroused. Either the government is pow- 
erless, or it is indifferent in such matters. 
There is one case on record in which the people 



220 The Spell of China 

objected to the railway too strenuously, and the 
government, fearing complications, purchased 
the line, ripped up the rails and sent them with 
equipment to an island possession. The natives 
would have sent them to a less attractive place, 
if there had not been quick action. 

Nevertheless, the Hankow-Peking Line is re- 
markable. It pierces the interior of China, 
going through the fertile agricultural land of 
three provinces, and sends its trains among peo- 
ple who only a few years ago were as primitive 
as the natives of interior Thibet. It has had 
a civilizing influence that has had some socio- 
logical advantage, no doubt, because it brings 
the outside world into contact with the hermit- 
like people of densely populated cities and 
towns. They still congregate around the sta- 
tions, however, and stare in open-mouthed sur- 
prise at the steam marvel. They peer into the 
windows of the compartments like blank-faced 
sheep. Shout *'shoo fly" at them and they run 
like a herd of frightened cattle. 

The train stopped near a farm where many 
peasants were at work in a corn field. There 
was something the matter with the engine, and 
they all came running to get a closer view. 
Eight or ten of them poked their heads into the 
windows of my compartment. I was reading, 



China's Triple Heart 221 

and suddenly looking up from my book, I con- 
fess that they startled me, for they were a weird 
looking lot. But I gave them a military salute 
and said simply : ' ' Good morning. ' ' This ter- 
rorized them and they immediately ran away, 
their long pigtails flying in the wind, for these 
interior people have not ''followed the fash- 
ions." Their fathers and their grandfathers 
wore queues and they do not care for the new- 
fangled notions of 'booking like a criminal." 
They crossed a big field before they ventured 
to look back. Perhaps they had heard stories 
about ' 'foreign devils," but they probably had 
seen few of them and they were not taking any 
chances. But the railroad has been a blessing 
to these people, whether they appreciate it or 
not. It has given them a better market for 
their produce. They are too dense to realize 
this advantage at the present time, however, 
and look upon arriving and departing trains 
much as we would look upon airships at home 
in America. 

It seems that the trains run regularly several 
times a week, but nobody takes any pains to let 
anybody else know about it. The line was built 
by a Belgian syndicate, and an amusing feature 
of this "contact" is that the trainmen speak 
tolerably good French, but do not understand 



222 The Spell of China 

English. A Chinese porter or conductor, 
speaking the dialect of Brussels, is amusing in 
itself; but these men are otherwise amusing. 
They are slouchily dressed in shirts that gap 
and expose several inches of bare stomach, be- 
cause they must be "uniformed," and once- 
white trousers. And they wear wrist-watches ! 
Probably the superintendent of construction 
who came out from Brussels was so adorned, 
so no self-respecting Hankow trainman would 
think himself dressed, unless his ''dollar 
watch" was strapped to his arm. 

The Chinese government purchased the line 
some years ago, so the railroad is now run like 
everything else in China. It almost runs it- 
self, until it strikes a snag, and then it merely 
suspends trains until matters are adjusted or 
adjust themselves. When there is a revolution 
on — and there is usually some political trouble 
brewing in these districts — the government 
does not take any chances, and merely sends a 
telegram that stops railroad communication so 
far as the populace is concerned. People who 
want to travel can wait until things are settled. 

On the car there was a porter who made up 
the beds, and there was another porter who 
served tea. There was a porter who took 
charge of hand luggage and there was a porter 



China's Triple Heart 223 

who adjusted the electric fans and rubbed the 
dust off the passengers' shoes, and brought 
towels dipped in hot water, every half-hour or 
so, for passengers to wipe their perspiring 
brows — a luxury much indulged in by all travel- 
ing Chinamen. We had a merry party of them 
aboard. I never saw so many porters in my 
life and could not see why the railroad gave 
so many of them free rides. But this was un- 
derstood before the end of the journey. The 
railroad gives them next to nothing and they 
are glad of the jobs, to get as much as possible 
from passengers. They were all on hand at 
the end of the journey, looking for ''tips." 
These first-class attendants have comparatively 
few passengers and they make hay while the 
sun shines and the wheels move, if pestiferous 
attention can be considered "service." 

But just as everything else was expensive, 
the meals were ridiculously cheap, considering 
their quality and quantity. Almost all the pas- 
sengers ate Chinese ''chow," but the line boasts 
that it also provides European food, and it does. 
Nine course meals were the rule. They ranged 
from soup to delicious peaches, apricots and 
pears and included one fish and three meat 
courses, each with vegetables. And the charge 
for this banquet was sixty cents in American 



224 The Spell of China 

money. They were meals that would cost four 
or five dollars on a Pullman car in this country 
where we are told that diners are run at a 
loss. Most of the passengers at the tables were 
European, however, the natives preferring to 
patronize the swarms of ''hucksters," who 
shouted their wares at each station, selling un- 
usual food, ranging from whole roast chickens 
— which were offered for twenty cents — to 
gourds and radishes about a yard long. Most 
of these things were eaten as "relishes," how- 
ever, and boiled rice from the dining-car was 
ordered in quantities astounding to the West- 
erner. Here the Chinaman is again the op- 
posite of his Japanese brother, who prefers to 
dine in private in a hotel or inn, sending for 
his food to be served in his room, and eating his 
rice and fish in a closed compartment on the 
train. The Chinese like to eat in ''public," 
just as they like to appear "publicly" at most 
times when other people consider it preferable 
to remain behind closed doors. 

All sleeping cars in China have a "lounge" 
in the center of the car as long as several com- 
partments. It provides a chair for travelers 
who become "cramped" in sleeping dens, and 
the open space is usually filled with natives, 
either smoking vigorously or holding bowls of 



China's Triple Heart 225 

rice to their mouths, while poking great lumps 
of food between their lips, with noises that are 
not considered ''polite" at western tables, al- 
though eminently proper at Chinese boards. 

After dinner, when the sun had set and elec- 
tric lights were turned on, the Chinese passen- 
gers seemed to take it as a signal to commence 
a slow preparation for retiring. Many of them 
seemed to feel that they were cramped for 
space in their compartments, so they stood in 
the corridors or the ''lounge" as they removed 
various articles of clothing. Most of them 
seemed to take a "night cap" smoke, after be- 
ing fully prepared for bed, prancing up and 
down the corridors as they did so ! And be it 
understood that the Chinaman who wears little 
more than a long coat in the daytime does not 
put on additional clothing when he retires. 

Woe to the passenger who hurriedly boards 
a train on this line without having purchased a 
ticket ! Unless such passenger can prove to the 
satisfaction of the conductor that he boarded 
the train at Tschoue-tcheon, Lion-li-ho, Wang- 
ton-sien or Pao-ting-f ou — the difficulty of which 
will be apparent to any one — the company, 
which is the government, gives the conductor 
full authority to collect fare from the starting 
point of the train. In addition to "teaching 



226 The SpeU of China 

folks to come early to avoid the rusli," the pa- 
ternal government thus gives the train crew 
another opportunity to turn a dishonest penny, 
a privilege which in large measure takes the 
place of salary. The Chinese government was 
never generous in salaries, but it "gives every 
man a chance" to prepare for a comfortable 
old age, from the president to the railway con- 
ductor. 

But railways are comparatively new in China, 
so that their operators may not have been con- 
nected with them long enough to have mastered 
the ' ' tricks of the trade. ' ' The mileage is being 
rapidly increased, however, and it is certain 
that the railway has come to stay. The great 
obstacle still difficult to overcome is that a 
railroad track cannot avoid the numerous 
graves of ancestors that dot the entire Chinese 
country landscape. The first line was built 
from Wu-sung to Shanghai, a distance of about 
twelve miles. There were several accidents 
and so much disturbance in the district that 
the government purchased the line, tore up the 
rails and shipped them with the rolling stock 
to Formosa, at that time a Chinese possession. 
The line was not rebuilt until 1898, when sev- 
eral Chinese bought shares, and it soon became 
popular with the natives who had opposed it in 



China's Triple Heart 227 

the beginning. The real start of railways in 
China, however, is usually dated from 1881, 
when a line was built between the Kaiping coal 
mine to a canal seven miles distant. At first 
it was merely a tram and the change was 
brought about by deceit and strategy, the own- 
ers trusting to diplomacy to keep it open. It 
is related that a British engineer built the first 
locomotive by stealth, and almost before the of- 
ficials of the province were aware of it, there 
was a fifty-mile narrow gage line in full op- 
eration. But there were many difficulties to 
be overcome. The Chinese of the district were 
careless, and the number of deaths resulting 
from the operation of trains threatened to de- 
stroy the profits of the mine, which had 
prompted its construction, for the company, 
fearing mobs or other violence, paid indemni- 
ties to the families of victims without the cus- 
tomary investigation of accidents. It was soon 
learned, however, that in China, where life is 
held to be of so much less importance than 
death, there was what amounted to a suicidal 
mania among the people. The head of the 
house, who could not provide food for his 
family, willingly placed himself in front of 
trains, assured that survivors would profit by 
his sacrifice. The company stopped paying in- 



228 The Spell of China 

demnity and the suicidal mania was quickly 
suppressed. 

Following the Sino-Japanese war, however, 
Chinese officials realized that railroads must be 
encouraged and an era of railway construction 
began in various parts of the country. The op- 
ponents argued that there were over seventeen 
thousand miles of waterway in China which had 
served all purposes of transportation for cen- 
turies, augmented by a system of national high- 
ways that had been in operation from ancient 
days. But the progressive won and are still 
winning. By 1911, there were four thousand 
miles of railway open to traffic in China and the 
mileage is supposed to be well over the six thou- 
sand mark at the present time, with several 
prospective extensions and new lines under con- 
struction. The fine Peking-Kalgan line had 
Chan-Tien-you, a Yale graduate, as chief engi- 
neer and was financed and built by Chinese. It 
is operated entirely by natives and has had a 
far reaching effect upon the entire railway sit- 
uation in China. Eailroads naturally lead the 
way to the introduction of the telegraph and 
postal systems of western countries. The first 
telegraph line in China was operated between 
Tientsin, the Taku fort and the Pei-ho Eiver in 
1879. The speed with which the system has 



China's Triple Heart 229 

been expended is almost '* Japanese," because a 
report issued in 1913 showed over thirty-eight 
thousand miles of wire and over six hundred 
stations in operation. Down to the late years 
of the last Manchu dynasty, there was no postal 
system in the modern sense. Communications, 
chiefly official, were sent through the country 
by elaborate and extensive relays of couriers, 
so timed that when one arrived at a post sta- 
tion other men were in readiness to carry mail 
along towards destination without a moment's 
delay. But the railroads have brought a new 
era, and to-day there are regular postal routes 
that cover considerably over one hundred thou- 
sand miles, all under the control of the central 
government at Peking, although the first at- 
tempt at a western postal system dates only to 
1878. Telephones were not in use in China un- 
til 1881, when a private service was installed by 
the British at Shanghai; which has been ex- 
tended to the large cities, at least those fre- 
quented by foreigners. 

These, and many other things, not only prove 
that China is awake, but also that there is a 
latent spark in the nation that responds to a 
quickening impulse from without. Pessimists 
have believed that art, for example, was dead. 
I asked several connoisseurs and collectors in 



230 The SpeU of China 

various cities if they could tell me of one na- 
tive Chinese who at the moment was devoting 
himself to painting or sculpture ; and I always 
received the same negative answer, with the 
possible exception of Shanghai, where I was 
told of Chinese newspaper and magazine cari- 
caturists and cartoonists, who are fashioning 
their work after Western models and doing 
comparatively nothing to prove that the art of 
Chinese traditions still lives. Yet, as the train 
passed a small town on the Hankow-Peking line, 
an art expert from America, who held commis- 
sions from various collectors and museums, told 
me an interesting story to prove that art is not 
dead in China, as many people believe ; but that 
it may feel the quickening influence of the West- 
ern ''contact" that is making itself felt in so 
many directions. 

''It cost me just six hundred dollars to find 
out that art is not dead in China," he related, 
"or that is what it has cost me to date, and 
this is the town where it all happened." He 
pointed to the sign-board that hung over the 
entrance of a small station. "I have never 
been here before, but this town is the home of 
a young genius. In my search for curios and 
art works for America, I came across a splendid 
marble figure which was represented to me as 



China's Triple Heart 231 

being an antique. Now I know a thing or two 
about Chinese art, but I bad never seen any- 
thing like this particular piece. I examined it 
closely, and the dealer, a Frenchman, resident 
in China, assured me that it was a rare speci- 
men of the work of a certain period. I had 
some misgiving, but try as I would I was ir- 
resistibly drawn back to the piece when I at- 
tempted to ignore it. I thought perhaps none 
of the people I represented would care for it, 
so I decided to purchase it for myself. I bar- 
gained with the dealer, but I could not bring 
him to better terms, so I gave him six hundred 
dollars cash and congratulated myself on my 
bargain. 

"There is a Chinese collector whose judg- 
ment I respect and with whom I have often dis- 
cussed my purchases. So I took my marble to 
him that he might rejoice with me. 'It's not 
an antique,' he said at the first glance. *I know 
the young sculptor; he lives in a little town 
on the Hankow-Peking railroad.' I told the 
collector that I had no reason to doubt his word, 
but if what he said was true it would be worth 
the young sculptor's time and inconvenience to 
come and see me. Immediately, I recalled sev- 
eral wealthy Chinese who had lamented that art 
was dead in their country. I would see the 



232 The Spell of China 

youth, I thought, have a talk with him, and 
then bring him to the attention of men who 
would be glad to send him abroad for study, 
for the glory of China and as proof that the 
artistic impulse has not departed. 

"Well, he came to see me, an ignorant, sensi- 
tive and superstitious young man, who told me 
that he represented the youngest generation of 
a family which for many years had earned a 
meager living as stone-cutters. Their princi- 
pal occupation, I believe, was making the big 
stone dogs, which the Chinese like to place at 
the entrances of their homes or gardens. The 
boy was suspicious of me and it was with con- 
siderable difficulty that I persuaded him to ad- 
mit that he carved the marble which had come 
into my possession. He said that a figure in 
the local temple had been his only model, while 
his relatives, the stone-carvers, had been his 
only instructors. He had taken the block of 
marble and worked on it in his leisure moments, 
he said, and one day he sold it to the French 
dealer, who was well aware that it was his own 
work. He received only a few dollars in pay- 
ment and was amazed when I told him that the 
piece had passed to me upon the payment of 
six hundred dollars. 

**I told him that I would bring him to the 



China's Triple Heart 233 

attention of some Chinese gentlemen who would 
take an interest in his future. I had but one 
request to make of him and that was that he 
would accompany me to the French consulate 
and make affidavit of the fact that he had told 
the dealer the marble was his own work, be- 
cause it had been misrepresented to me as an an- 
tique. He consented and we went to the con- 
sulate. Several questions were asked of him in 
a formal manner and he swore to the document 
and affixed his signature. He was very nerv- 
ous during the proceedings, and my Chinese 
friend assured me afterwards that the youth 
became absolutely panic-stricken. As quickly 
as the legal formalities were over, he made a 
dash for the door and went directly to the rail- 
way station to take a train for this little town, 
his own home. Apparently he believed that 
he was becoming involved in some weird plot 
that would end in trouble, perhaps imprison- 
ment. He vowed never again to touch his hand 
to anything more important than the stone dogs, 
the occupation of his honorable fore-fathers. 
I made one more effort to induce him to come 
and see me, but he sent back word that he never 
cared to leave his village again. He had been 
to the city once and considered that he made a 
fortunate escape, a belief which his family 



234 The Spell of China 

doubtless shared with him. Yes, it cost me six 
hundred dollars, but I found out that art still 
lives in China. And, what's more, I would not 
give up my specimen of modern Chinese sculp- 
ture if any one placed six hundred dollars in 
my hand." 

The early part of the trip passed without un- 
due excitement, but as the train entered the 
province of Ho-nan we observed that excited 
crowds — most of the men still wearing their 
queues — had assembled at every station. They 
were festooning the railway buildings with bolts 
of coarse white canvas and wreathes or gar- 
lands of fresh flowers, some of them great pieces 
of jasmine that sent forth an odor that could 
be detected before the train stopped. Under 
the artificial arbors were fifteen or twenty 
chairs — evidently for the chief dignitaries of 
the cities. At first we thought it must be local 
celebrations or festivals, for perpetually there 
is one of them on the calendar, as one finds out 
who attempts to transact any business at the 
banks, which always avail themselves of all holi- 
days. Then we asked : 

"Funeral train of President Yuan Shi-k'ai 
will pass here to-morrow ; this his province, his 
old home. His body will be brought home for 
burial." 



China's Triple Heart 235 

*'But President Yuan died three weeks ago," 
we commented. 

*'Very trne, but Chinese do not bury- 
quickly," was the rejoinder, which we had rea- 
son to know two days later, because when we 
visited a temple in Peking there was a horrible 
odor that sent us out to the fresh air, although 
several Chinese were lounging around the place, 
visiting and smoking, apparently not disturbed 
by the air they were breathing. 

*'Too bad, very sorry," apologized our guide. 
** General Chong was killed at Shanghai two 
months ago. They sent his body here and it 
has not yet been buried. His eldest son comes 
here every day to worship at his father's bier. 
Chinese do not bury their dead too soon." 

When we arrived at Peking, we found the big 
station, just outside the principal gate, fes- 
tooned with straw matting and fresh flowers. 
Our information had been correct. Yuan was 
to be buried, or at least his funeral was to be 
held on the following day. His remains had 
lain in the Imperial Palace in the Forbidden 
City for three weeks. We wondered if we 
would be able to see the funeral; and a quick 
trip to the American legation assured us that it 
might be possible. In a short time we received 
passes to go to the old Tartar City wall, mount 



236 The Spell of China 

it, approach the ancient gateway and look down, 
seeing what we could see. 

*'And it will be a sight to remember," vol- 
unteered an attache, making our anticipations 
mount higher and higher. * ' They hated Presi- 
dent Yuan, while he was alive — perhaps none in 
the republic was so hated — ^but the Chinese seem 
to forget everything when they are in the pres- 
ence of death. It is the great leveler. Con- 
ditions were much the same when the late Dow- 
ager Empress passed away. She had not been 
beloved by her people during her life ; but her 
funeral — ^what a spectacle it was ! And we un- 
derstand that Yuan's funeral procession will be 
just as spectacular." 



CHAPTER IX 

BURYING A PRESIDENT 

^g'T has been said that the Chinese think more 
^11^ of death than they do of life. The great 
to-do over Yuan Shih-k'ai, after he had 
stopped breathing, seemed to point to the truth 
of this statement. No doubt, Yuan was a mon- 
ster. Sometimes in the news despatches that 
reached us in America we were led to think of 
him as a progressive president of a great re- 
public that was striving to forget the traditions 
of the old empire. We were asked to think of 
him as a noble personage who came to the aid 
of his country in time of stress. It was ac- 
knowledged, even by his bitterest enemies — and 
they seemed to be numbered by the tens of 
thousands — that he was a powerful man. He 
was thought to be the only man, after the 
Manchu dynasty had been overthrown, who 
should be president, because it was thought that 
he was the only man who could unite the va- 
rious political factions. He held China to- 
gether in a fashion, until vain ambition rose to 

237 



238 The Spell of China 

the surface and the country beheld the real 
Yuan. 

Still the country tolerated him in a fashion. 
It was no secret that his life story told a bloody 
history, because it was well known that his cus- 
tom was to see to it that men who opposed him 
were assassinated. He was treacherous in a 
superlative degree. His greatest coup, before 
he became president, proved that. He was 
trusted by the Emperor, who was virtually a 
prisoner in his island home at the Summer Pal- 
ace just beyond the walls of Peking, and he 
turned traitor to his liege lord, because he 
thought it better to play into the hands of the 
Dowager Empress. Yuan became stronger 
than ever in the councils of the mighty, but the 
people forgot or passed lightly many of the 
things in his earlier career. At least they 
thought he would be able to weld together the 
broken strands. But Yuan was not satisfied. 
We had hints in America that he would proclaim 
himself emperor in a year and found a dynasty 
which would rule, after centuries of Manchu 
oppression. That was the great turning point. 
The South of China revolted. It was not for 
this that they had just passed through a revolu- 
tion. But the South of China is always re- 
volting at something, and the news was given 




THE LATE YUAN SHIH-K AI 



Burying a President 239 

out as if it was another of those periods of dis- 
satisfaction with any government. As a mat- 
ter of fact, Yuan was emperor. The American 
legation in Peking has received documents 
signed by him as emperor, using the name that 
he had taken for himself, and signed with the 
imperial signet. I have seen a photograph of 
the crown that he had made and expected to 
place on his own head when the time came. 

President in name, he was ruling China as 
despotically as any of her foreign rulers had 
attempted to do in the past. By his followers 
he was acknowledged to be emperor, and it was 
supposed that the succession would pass to his 
eldest son, a paralytic, heartily disliked in Pe- 
king. The country was in flames. It is still a 
question whether or not he would have been 
able to stem the tide of opposition. But these 
things were not the whole truth concerning him. 
They made good material for speeches and edi- 
torials at home and abroad, but our writers 
seemed to overlook the fact that Yuan was a 
reactionary of the worst type. He did not be- 
lieve in reform, and it was merely a pose when 
he claimed that he did. He hated Christians, 
and was a true Chinaman in his religious be- 
liefs, as superstitious as the coolie of the coun- 
try districts. 



240 The Spell of China 

A member of his cabinet, whose name I am 
not at liberty to use, said when I asked for per- 
mission to visit the Imperial Palace: "It 
would have been impossible a month ago, be- 
cause Yuan was more rigid in these matters 
than any of the deceased rulers of China. He 
did not want a foreigner within the palace gates. 
Now it is different." 

Yuan was popularly supposed to have had 
fourteen wives. It is gossiped in Peking that 
two of his wives gave birth to sons on the same 
day. This is no particular scandal in China, 
however, because men who can afford it have 
many wives, but it speaks much for his ** mod- 
ern ideas," of which such glowing accounts 
were sent through the press of the world. 

Then Yuan died. Of course, every one 
thought that he had been assassinated, because 
that is the way of things in China when any one 
in power is so cordially disliked. He had an 
official taster, who ate of his food before every 
meal since he came to the presidency. His life 
was one of perpetual terror, because he ex- 
pected momentarily to be blown to death by 
bombs. But he died a natural death. It is said 
that Chinese physicians hastened the end by 
their practices, because at the last he did not 
follow the advice of his French physician and 



Burying a President 241 

went back to "his kind" for aid, in response 
to the urgent pleadings of his wives. Suddenly, 
everything was changed. All of the military 
put on mourning and everything and every one 
was sad — or pretended to be. The President 
of the republic was dead. China loves any sort 
of death and all of the accompanying cere- 
monies. So the country, particularly the cap- 
ital city, went into mourning, while messages 
came from the South that hostile activities 
would cease, at least for the time being. 

For twenty-one days the country wept over 
Yuan. One would have thought him a national 
hero, whereas a few weeks before it was diffi- 
cult to find any one not absolutely in his em- 
ploy who had a good word for him. The news- 
papers ran columns of eulogy and all seemed 
to be "forgotten." 

The day on which I arrived, the day before 
the funeral, the capital seemed to be unusually 
dull ; but I did not understand that it was look- 
ing forward to its holiday on the morrow. I 
read a two column story in a newspaper, show- 
ing the lineup for the parade, and after noting 
where the Honorable This and That "would 
bow profoundly before the casket along its 
route," according to precedent and station, I 
was amused to read that following the body the 



242 The Spell of China 

immediate family would walk from the Palace 
to the railroad station ** weeping violently." 
And when the great day arrived the family lived 
lip to the scheduled expectations. 

The eldest son was propped up by two serv- 
ants and seemed barely able to walk at all. 
With him was a numerous family that resem- 
bled a small crowd. Yuan had enough children 
to have filled all the public offices of the capital 
at some future time. He knew how to turn a 
trick that would make money. He was im- 
mensely wealthy when he was a provincial gov- 
ernor, and there are reports, exaggerated no 
doubt, that he counted his profits, as president, 
by the millions of taels. 

*'We have promised the Chinese government 
that nobody will be on the gate while the pro- 
cession is passing," said an official of the 
American legation, when I presented myself at 
the Tartar City wall early in the morning on 
the day of the funeral. ''That would be 'bad 
luck' and the Chinese do not care to take any 
chances. So please stand to one side of the 
middle archway." 

I posted myself according to instructions, and 
without overstating the facts, I saw more peo- 
ple than I had ever seen at one time in my life. 
They thronged the capital highways and fought 



Burying a President 243 

for places. The military was out stronger than 
we have been led to believe that China could 
exhibit in war time. Thousands of soldiers 
were in evidence, many of them mounted. 
They clubbed and whacked at the crowd in a 
merciless manner. People do not count for 
much in China, and the military does not spare 
the limits of its authority in such matters. 
Finally, we heard the drums from behind the 
Imperial Palace walls in the Forbidden City and 
we knew that Yuan had started on his last jour- 
ney. Outriders, brilliantly costumed, galloped 
along the avenue, which was closely guarded by 
soldiers, standing shoulder to shoulder. Then 
came a big Chinese band, playing (in deference 
to European custom) Chopin's '* Funeral 
March." Then dignitaries of the army and 
navy, each in full uniform and surrounded by 
their staffs. Then hundreds of the government 
officials in full evening dress, the diplomatic 
corps in full dress togs and plumes, then more 
Chinese officials in native costumes. There was 
another band playing Chopin, then hundreds of 
officials and the "parade" threatened to be- 
come tiresome, but finally an enormous Chinese 
band, dressed in yellow silk robes, came along, 
fairly shaking the stones of the wall with metal 
cymbals, drums (draped in black crepe), flutes 



244 The Spell of China 

that shrieked horribly, stringed instruments 
that sounded like the moaning of lost souls, and 
triangle metal affairs that resembled the tum- 
tum of bronze bells. 

This was followed by men who carried great 
hampers of paper discs with holes punched 
through the center. The wind was blowing and 
they caught the breeze and fluttered over the 
heads of the crowd, eager to get them as sou- 
venirs. It was *' money" for Yuan's soul and 
it was a bribe to the evil spirits. They were 
obliged to pass through every hole of every 
piece of tissue before getting at Yuan's soul, 
so they lost out in the race. We could vouch 
for that, because millions of the discs were 
scattered between the palace ground and the 
station. 

Immediately following this came the remains, 
reposing in a gigantic coffin, the size of an ordi- 
nary living-room in an American house, and 
painted vermillion. It was carried by eighty- 
two coolies dressed in vermillion silk robes. 
And directly behind was a great white silk 
canopy carried by coolies, under which marched 
the "family" of the late president * 'weeping 
violently." 

Then followed great pieces of fresh flowers, 
the tributes of the nations, each carried by sep- 



Burying a President 245 

arate coolies in silk robes, huge biers upon 
which were stretched all of the clothing of the 
deceased, food for him in the next world, his 
tablet and his photograph. 

The police held the crowd in check until the 
remains reached the station grounds, which 
were ornately decorated with new straw mat- 
ting and flowers. Then bedlam broke loose. 
Every one scrambled for something or other. 
It was an indescribable sight from above the 
heads of the crowds. I looked in the papers the 
next morning to see some account of how many 
persons were wounded or killed in the crush, 
but Peking papers do not give many of such 
harrowing details. Life is so cheap, and so 
many people are born every minute, that a few 
deaths do not attract much attention. 

Business was entirely suspended on the day 
of Yuan's funeral. All the banks were closed, 
and it was a national holiday in which every 
one seemed to participate by going into the 
streets and becoming excited. Foreigners kept 
quite close to the legation quarters, where they 
belonged. Nobody knew what might happen, 
but every one suspected that something was 
brewing*. But on the following morning the 
banks opened, the shops took up their business 
as before and things seemed quiet in Peking 



246 The Spell of China 

again. For how long nobody dared to ven- 
ture a guess, but the new president, Li Yuan- 
Hung, who had been vice-president, seemed to 
command the respect of the crowd. Even the 
agitators were quiet because they understood 
that not even President Li had been favorable 
to Yuan, when he was alive and in office. Per- 
haps better times were coming; at least there 
was a tendency to give the new man a chance. 
Li was acceptable to the South, and that was a 
great problem solved. The South has nothing 
in common with the North. The peoples of the 
two sections do not even speak the same lan- 
guage, and excepting when each speaks with 
the ''mandarin" honorifics, they cannot under- 
stand one another any more than if they be- 
longed to different races. 

China is full of the republican idea. It is 
through with emperors and imperial families. 
It is in a half-dazed condition and does not 
know exactly what it does want, but it wants 
some sort of government '*by the people" and 
will doubtless work out its own destiny — at 
least that is the fairest opinion of men in close 
touch with the situation. 

Although for reasons of state, he has not said 
anything that could be construed as an official 
utterance regarding the subject, it is believed 



Burying a President 247 

that Li Yuan-Hung, President of China, is a 
Christian convert. Now, when a Christian 
practically occupies the Dragon Throne of 
Cathay it is time that the world took notice. 
It seems almost that China has become a 
republic in reality — instead of a gigantic na- 
tion without any real form of government ac- 
knowledged and respected throughout the wide 
domain. Probably it would not serve his own 
cause or the cause of Christianity best if he 
should make a bold proclamation in regard to 
his religion because it would necessarily an- 
tagonize the conservatives, who are believers in 
more ancient doctrines than those taught by 
Jesus Christ. This great element could not 
comprehend what it would mean to them to 
have a Christian ruler. Even if he were a su- 
preme personality, and otherwise quite accept- 
able to them, the fact of "Christianity" would 
immediately stir up troubles in the already 
trouble-burdened country. Probably it is bet- 
ter for General Li not to talk too much on this 
subject. But I have information from a gentle- 
man who knows him well, and who is, indirectly, 
a member of his official family. 

Next in importance to the new president's 
religion seems to be the fact that General Li 
did not covet his position; he did not dream 



248 The Spell of China 

of such an exalted station in life, and he was 
not particularly happy when the great time 
came and he found himself in the supreme posi- 
tion in China. In other countries a ruler or 
president may have his enemies, but they are 
usually political; in China they are blood 
enemies. When a big question arises they seem 
to say : * ' Your life or mine. ' ' 

When I was at Canton a Chinese school pro- 
fessor — one who had been a teacher in Manila 
and spoke English perfectly — and a group of 
his friends told me about a ''mistake" that one 
of the leading politicians of Canton had made. 
They calmly explained to me that a man of such 
great responsibilities had no right to make 
"mistakes," or if he did, he must expect to pay 
for them, and pay dearly. His action to which 
they objected had been adjusted to their com- 
plete satisfaction, but they explained that it 
would be necessary for him to pay for his "mis- 
take" with his life. This seemed bravado and 
I paid little attention to it at the time, but when 
I reached Hongkong I read that the official 
about whom we had talked was assassinated in 
his own house two days after our conversation. 
So it seemed to have been a well-known and 
well-established fact when the men were pre- 
dicting it. The papers calmly reported that 



Burying a President 249 

he had paid for his folly. It was as strange a 
news item as when the newspapers of China de- 
liberately declared that So-and-So was elected 
to such and such an office yesterday, by the aid 
of the police and soldiers. Of course every 
one knows that this is the condition of things, 
but it makes rather ''frank" newspaper mat- 
ter. And if all of these things be true of a 
minor official, they are a hundred times truer 
of the chief executive. Yuan Shih-k'ai made 
one "mistake," or at least one shone out be- 
yond all of the others. He declared himself 
emperor. The people of China had mistrusted 
him previously, but it was merely mistrust. 
This "mistake" they would not forgive, al- 
though Yuan weakly pleaded that he had been 
badly advised and had believed that it was the 
will of the people. But the people knew that 
this was a lie. He had hoped to found a dy- 
nasty to follow the Manchus on the throne of 
China; all of his republican statements were 
merely veneer to cover his real desires. This 
"mistake" the people would not forgive, and 
it was probably a merciful providence that 
caused his natural death, because he was so 
set around by guards, so well fortified within 
the Forbidden City at Peking that it might have 
cost tens or hundreds of thousands of lives to 



250 The Spell of China 

have accomplished his death or abdication. 
And nothing else would have satisfied China. 
The country was almost unanimous in one 
thing, more so than it had been on a given point 
for many years. Yuan must pay for his "mis- 
take" with his life. Natural disease, increased 
by worry and terror — ^and Chinese doctors — ac- 
complished the desired end. 

So perhaps it was obvious why General Li 
did not care to accept any of the political offices 
that were offered to him after the fall of the 
Manchus and the beginning of the republic. He 
was essentially a military man. That was his 
life, and his only great desire was to assist in 
bringing about a better army for China. He 
realized as well as any man that if the great 
swarm of China's male population could be 
brought under proper discipline, the country 
would be in a position to ''dictate" terms to 
other nations instead of accepting the humili- 
ating position of being dictated to by Japan and 
Eussia. It was the work to which he had 
pledged his life. 

Early in life Li went to Japan to receive most 
of his military education. His ambition — a 
rare thing in China — he wanted to do something 
for his country, but did not care for personal 
honors or ''rewards." But his brilliant 



Burying a President 251 

achievements soon attracted attention after he 
had returned home, and it was impossible for 
such a man to remain hidden in the background 
or unknown. At the time of the great revolu- 
tion in 1911 he was selected by his own troops 
— a rare honor — as the one man who should 
lead them against the armies that were clamor- 
ing at their gates. That he proved himself a 
leader of men on this occasion is history. It 
was his first big chance to show his mettle, and 
thereafter Li Yuan-Hung was a person to be 
reckoned with, although he protested that he 
had acted merely as a military man should act 
and wished no further glory. 

When Hankow and Hanyang were retaken by 
the imperial forces from the revolutionists 
many of the leaders of the uprising fled, but not 
Li Yuan-Hung. He stood his ground, and while 
doing so he conducted a brilliant and historical 
correspondence with Yuan Shih-k'ai, who had 
been recalled to Peking by the Manchus as the 
one man in the empire who could save them 
and their cause. General Li was largely instru- 
mental in arranging the peace conference at 
Shanghai, in which Tang Shao-yi and Wu Ting- 
fang reached the agreement that changed the 
form of government in China from a monarchy 
to a republic. Events were moving rapidly and 



252 The SpeU of China 

he was moving with them, although his friends 
say that he always vainly tried to keep in the 
background, aiming not to appear to be an im- 
portant figure, although his was one of the im- 
portant brains in all deliberations. 

After the abdication of the Manchus, Yuan 
became president by his own strategy. With 
Li it was a different matter. The people felt 
that under a republic they had certain "rights," 
so one of the first of them to be exercised was 
the demand that General Li be made vice-presi- 
dent, chief of general staff and Tutuh of Hu- 
peh. It is said that he was never Yuan's 
friend, did not approve of his methods and 
policies, and never pretended to be friendly to 
him. But the people wanted him in the vice- 
presidential chair, so he accepted it and had 
practically five years of administrative work 
before he was called to the chief position of 
state at fifty-two years of age, by the death of 
Yuan. The country has had its **eye" on him 
for several years. When an independent gov- 
ernment was established in May, 1916, he was 
elected president by the revolutionists. When 
the monarchial movement was at its height and 
Yuan's fate hung in the balance, he gave a fine 
exhibition of his character. 

Yuan sent a group of monarchists, his hench- 



Burying a President 253 

men, to make a formal call upon Li and they 
tried to present their cause in a light that would 
win his approval, which Yuan felt would mean 
much to the cause. The men were ushered into 
the vice-president's reception room. After a 
few minutes the vice-president entered, a calm 
and dignified figure. He stood before them si- 
lently as they urged their monarchical cause. 
They even told him that he would receive the 
highest title that the new emperor could con- 
fer upon a subject, ''The Brave Prince," and 
the emoluments of that rank, which were not 
to be despised by a ''commoner." When they 
had finished with their "temptation," General 
Li made no reply, but bowed courteously and 
strode out of the room. And all of these things 
did not tend to make him "popular" with the 
coterie around Yuan, but they feared him, be- 
cause they knew that the people believed in him. 
So it happened that there was no more gen- 
eral rejoicing at Yuan's death than over the 
fact that under the constitution General Li took 
his oath of office and moved into a palace of 
the Forbidden City to begin his rule. He did 
not go to Yuan's palace. There are so many 
palaces within this great wall that practically 
every high and mighty person may literally 
"take his choice," Yuan's palace was sealed 



254 The Spell of China 

with strips of paper after his body was taken 
out for its last journey to Honan, and it is com- 
monly reported in Peking that his numerous 
family took so much loot and furnishings with 
them that the place would have been barely fit 
for the reception of a new president. 

For a few days there was peace. Even the 
South seemed to be satisfied with Li. But it 
was the general belief that the South was 
merely waiting to see what would be his poli- 
cies. I had the privilege of talking to sev- 
eral men in Peking who know China well, and 
I received various opinions and prophecies re- 
garding the future. None doubted the good in- 
tentions of President Li, but most of them were 
doubtful concerning the future. The best in- 
formed men with whom I talked delivered 
themselves of two opinions: 

The first: ** China is naturally divided into 
two parts by the Yangtze-kiang Eiver. It is 
two countries instead of one. The people speak 
different languages — and they are different 
people. What will be agreeable to one, will 
never suit the other. It was possible to keep 
them in check under the Manchu murderous and 
despotic rule, because it was a rule without tol- 
eration. It will not be possible, perhaps, under 
republican rule. The quicker the country is 



Burying a President 255 

divided into two parts, with separate rulers and 
government, the quicker will come peace and 
prosperity for China." 

The second: ''There is but one way to es- 
tablish permanent peace in China. The great 
nations of the world should appoint a joint 
commission to rule China for a period of ten 
or twenty years, solemnly vowing to return the 
reins of government to the Chinese at the end 
of a given period, when Chinia is capable of 
running her own affairs. During that time. 
Western civilization might become well estab- 
lished, and at the end of that time China would 
have produced a man, or men, thoroughly ca- 
pable of keeping order." 



CHAPTEE X 

IMPERIAL PUEPLE METROPOLIS 

^^N all the world there is no such city as 
§||g Peking. In various parts of China there 
may be imitations of the capital, just 
as all the cities scattered along the banks of the 
Nile seem to be miniature Cairos. Many cities 
have been the capital during some period of his- 
tory, and as tradition, convention or necessity 
seem to require the partial or total seclusion of 
the ruler most of them were and still are sur- 
rounded by massive walls, penetrated by or- 
nate gates, usually painted in brilliant colors. 
Lesser rulers of kingdoms and provinces fol- 
lowed the imperial custom to a degree, and 
seemed to feel that there was not only greater 
safety, but also a dignity befitting their stations 
if their dwellings were set within great banks 
of masonry, and sometimes within walls that 
were entirely surrounded by higher walls. Yet 
none of the others approach the grandeur of 
what has often been called ''Imperial Purple 
Peking." It is no longer imperial, because the 

256 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 257 

=^ 

empire no longer exists and within the massive 
walls of the Forbidden City a mighty strong- 
hold well in the center of the "Tartar City" 
and ** Chinese City," the dual city being sur- 
rounded by walls enclosing an area of twenty- 
five square miles and thirty miles in circum- 
ference, resides the President of the vast Flow- 
ery Eepublic. But just as one still thinks of 
this inner heart of China as the ** Purple For- 
bidden Palace," so he thinks of Peking as the 
Imperial Purple City. It is the proud queen of 
the Orient, to many people the most wonderful 
city on earth, and even to the casual visitor one 
of those rare places of earth that quickly stamp 
themselves on the memory and never depart. 
To the Westerner, it may be a weird inclosure 
of mysteries, but the veils are being drawn aside 
with the passing of the years. Lucky is the 
curious traveler to-day! He may penetrate 
into the corners that were forbidden to the 
foreign kings who came this way in an earlier 
day. And while it may be human nature to 
care to pass beyond walls that have guarded 
their secrets jealously for centuries, there is a 
joy in seeing the Peking of the streets, the 
shops, restaurants and hotels that might not 
come from a similar visit to any other city. 
It is popularly believed that one who has no 



258 The Spell of China 

connection with the legations, or who is not for- 
tified with powerful credentials from home, 
either of official or commercial significance, will 
not think much of the *' society" or the social 
life of the capital, which is about as brilliant as 
that at any capital of the world. Foreign so- 
ciety in Peking is supposed to be very self-suf- 
ficient and *' exclusive." Just as China has 
learned many lessons from its vast experiences, 
so Peking society has learned to be singularly 
cautious. The Chinese capital at one time and 
another seems to have been the most popular 
rendezvous in the world for the flotsam and jet- 
sam of the European and American continents. 
Society has ''taken up" this and that sprig of 
Eussian nobility, the American "millionaire," 
German army officer or Spanish grandee only 
to find out a little later that he was an adven- 
turer and outcast from his own country, a pre- 
tender to distinctions which he never enjoyed 
at home. Even the legations, themselves, have 
been deceived, until they have thrown out social 
barriers that are somewhat difficult to sur- 
mount. Peking, however, is counted an un- 
usually attractive temporary residence, and 
travelers are coming to make it a city for an ex- 
tended sojourn, like Paris, Berlin or Rome. 
Conditions have changed in the past few years, 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 259 

and while living expenses are greater that in 
Europe or America, if one is to enjoy **all the 
comforts of home ' ' while living in the midst of 
''the Middle Ages of Europe made visible," it 
is now possible to find the conveniences of the 
West as regards food and lodging, at the same 
time partaking of the luxury of living in the 
Orient, which undeniably casts its spell over 
any one who does not deny himself the 
enjoyment that comes from forgetting previ- 
ously formed ideas and prejudices. 

Quite apart from this social life, however, 
into which the usual traveler could not and does 
not care to enter, there is a crowning climax to 
the Chinese excursion in beautiful Peking. 
One's first impression may be that it is a county 
rather than a city. There are great vacant 
spaces within the walls necessarily passed in 
going to the principal points of interest from 
any given point, so that sight-seeing often be- 
comes a lengthy journey from the hotel; but 
they will never be tedious journeys. The 
streets are always thronged with a colorful 
mass of human beings, every group of which 
will have its distinct and separate interest for 
the stranger. Some one seems always going to 
his bridal feast, or returning from a burial, pre- 
paring for the celebration of a festival, or pay- 



260 The Spell of China 

ing honor to some departed saint or sinner, and 
always with prescribed processional and cos- 
tumes. Peking streets, to the newly-arrived 
foreigner, seem to be the constant and kaleido- 
scopic breaking up or formation of a circus pa- 
rade. Perhaps the foreign residents become 
accustomed to these things in time, and yet it 
is not unusual for the foreigner 's telephone bell 
to ring a hasty call to all friends and acquaint- 
ances to assemble at a certain point to see some 
unusual and unexpected parade, ceremonial or 
celebration. The foreigner never understands 
the Pekingese. He dwells in their world per- 
haps, but he is not of it, and finally arrives at 
the point where he is surprised at nothing. It 
is always the unexpected that is happening, and 
it is happening so frequently and constantly 
that when nothing else calls for his time and 
attention the visitor may summon a motor or 
rikisha and fare forth almost certain to encoun- 
ter something in human life that his eyes have 
never before beheld, something likely as not 
that he had never before believed existed in the 
Twentieth Century. 

Little wonder then that many tourists and 
travelers who enter China from the North never 
care to venture far beyond the gates of Peking, 
and thus deceive themselves into believing that 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 261 

because they have seen so much they have seen 
China. Peking is not China, as so many capi- 
tals are fairly representative of a country ; but 
Peking has an individual charm and fascination 
that is far-reaching. And they may become de- 
ceptive, because not even the most casual tour- 
ist should imagine that less than one million of 
China's vast population could be fairly repre- 
sentative of the remaining millions that dwell 
beyond the confines of the capital city. Peking 
may lure people from all the country, and it 
may be the most brilliant jewel in the great 
diadem of China, where statesmen, financiers 
and scholars are attempting to fuse the con- 
flicting ideas of the East and the West and by 
quickening the heart action send renewed life 
and vigor to remote extremities, but, on the last 
analysis, it is merely one of the many capitals 
where this or similarly difficult experiments 
have been tried. Perhaps it is the most in- 
teresting of all of them, and perhaps a part of 
this fascination comes from the fact that it is 
the most recent capital, for here as recently as 
1908 dwelt the Son of Heaven, the sacred per- 
sonage who joined his ancestors in death, leav- 
ing the most ancient throne in the world, one 
that is not likely to be occupied again so long as 
time endures. One cannot look from his hotel 



262 The SpeU of China 

window, or from a rikisha, toward the yellow 
wall of his late residence — at least one who has 
a drop of romance in his veins — and not thank 
the lucky stars that have guided him to the 
fantastic, almost unbelievable capital that sur- 
rounds the palace of the late Kuang-Hsu. 

The railway stations lie beyond the walls. 
Trains entering the city where the emperor 
dwelt was unthinkable at the time the railways 
were built, and that leading across country 
from Hankow originally came to a stop far be- 
yond the city, but it has now stretched itself 
close to the great Cheng-yang-men Gate, 
through which one passes and quickly comes 
upon the Foreign Concessions that are scat- 
tered along the well paved and shaded avenue 
with the flags of the respective nations flying 
— great walled inclosures guarded by their own 
soldiers. This Legation Quarter, known to 
Chinese as the Tung-Chiao-Min-Hsiang , dates 
from 1689, when China signed a treaty with 
Russia, the first time that she had affixed her 
signature to such a document, indicating that 
she recognized it to be on an equal footing with 
herself, and when Eussia stationed her repre- 
sentative in Peking, building for him what was 
long known as the ''Russian House," Great 
Britain followed the example in 1861, closely 




/ 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 263 

followed by France, the United States, Italy, 
Germany, Holland, and other countries. The 
Legation Quarter of Peking figured as an im- 
portant feature of the world news and interest 
when it was besieged by the Boxers in 1900, 
and its inhabitants narrowly escaped exter- 
mination through the timely arrival of the 
troops of the various powers. In accordance 
with the peace concluded after the suppression 
of the Boxers, the legation compounds were 
placed under heavy guards of their respective 
troops, the gate to each compound being 
guarded as if it were the approach to a royal 
palace. 

Peking has changed materially during the 
last few years. A fine water system reaches to 
the principal sections and the roads that were 
notoriously the worst to be found in any large 
city in the world have been paved or are being 
paved. The common means of conveyance is 
the riMsha, but automobiles are gaining in fa- 
vor and are convenient for the long trips across 
the city. Palanquins are available for going 
into the narrow, crowded streets. Natives are 
fond of riding in the Peking cart, a springless 
two-wheeled vehicle in which passengers sit on 
the floor and move towards destination at a 
snail's pace. These carts will carry ten pas- 



264 The Spell of China 

sengers, and as they are usually drawn by a 
single small horse, not even the leisure-loving 
native would patronize them if occasion 
prompted him to hurry, which would be seldom 
if ever, unless he had an appointment with a 
foreigner. 

Excepting for a comparatively short period, 
Peking has been the capital of China since the 
Thirteenth Century. The emperor, Yung-lo, 
noting its importance (1421) removed from 
Nanking, whence the first Ming emperors had 
taken the imperial seat; but under various 
names Peking dates to most ancient times and 
was the residence of petty rulers before it be- 
came the capital of all China. Thus in 2000 
B. c, it was known as Yu-chou, and in the 
Eighth Century b. o., it was Yen. In ancient 
days it was surrounded by a mud wall, but with 
the opening of the Grand Canal, which brought 
it into direct communication with the great rice 
districts of the interior, and with the prestige 
gained from having become the imperial resi- 
dence, blocks of stone soon took the place of the 
mud fortification, and the gorgeous capital at- 
tracted the admiration of the world. 

The day after Yuan's funeral I mapped out 
an itinerary for myself, which, no doubt, had 
been prompted by watching the spectacular 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 265 

procession that moved from the gates of the 
Forbidden City along the avenue over which 
I had taken a stand. As so frequently before, 
it had seemed to me that China was a country 
without a religion, yet in this cortege of the 
late executive were representatives of several 
religions. Yuan himself had said : * 'I am un- 
equivocally a Confucianist, but nothing but 
Christian ethics can save China." But Chris- 
tianity was not officially represented in the pa- 
rade, while several other religions were there 
with banners, colors or costumes to distinguish 
them. In a way, they mingled as religions 
seem to mingle in many Chinese temples. Per- 
haps they all make "concessions" to ancestor 
worship, as did Christianity in an earlier day, 
although it declines to do so at the present time. 
Thus, one may enter a Confucian temple and 
see a figure of Buddha, or a Buddhist temple 
and come upon the sayings of the Chinese sage, 
or even the utterances of Lao-Tze, the founder 
of Taoism, or Meng-tse, known to the Western 
world in the Latinized form of Mencius, who 
taught a gospel of '* benevolence, wisdom and 
propriety." All were there, the Confucianists 
and the Lamaists particularly prominent; and 
there seemed to be no argument as to the status 
of one or the other. In fact, nobody seemed to 



266 The Spell of China 

care. It was strangely demonstrative of what 
I had observed elsewhere, and what I had sur- 
mised was the case from previous reading, when 
striving to ascertain something about the ** re- 
ligion of China.'* China has had no great re- 
ligious wars corresponding to the Crusades of 
the Western world, there have been no persecu- 
tions for religion's sake corresponding to those 
that followed the beginnings of Christianity in 
Europe, or which followed the Eeformation. 
Probably there was nothing to fight for, no 
definitely held faith, so there was no fighting. 
But religion has played an important role in 
China as elsewhere. Arrived in the capital of 
the country, I resolved to find out something 
concerning its practice, even if in the most cas- 
ual manner of the hurried observer and in- 
quirer. 

First, the guide took me to a Buddhist tem- 
ple, then to one where Lamaism is practised, 
later, to a Confucian shrine, and finally, we 
penetrated to the great Temple of Heaven, 
seemingly the most remarkable place of wor- 
ship in China, and later to the Temple of Agri- 
culture. It was a full day spent amid holy 
places, and yet I came back to the hotel with 
feelings of admiration for the architecture, with 
a thought of gratitude to certain priests, who 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 267 

had not resented my presence in sacred in- 
closures ; but the day's pilgrimage was one very 
unlikely to inspire reverence for the places I 
had seen, or the persons with whom I had 
talked, most of whom seemed to be muck more 
concerned with the collection of fees, which 
were exacted from "infidels," than with their 
holy office. In fact, one priest, who was seated 
at a desk in the temple, writing prayers on 
strips of paper, which the devout purchased 
and burned on the altar, or carried away to 
their homes, answered my inquiry in excellent 
English; "These are prayers which the peas- 
ants believe will bring them luck if they paste 
them on the doorposts of their homes. They 
believe it, but I don't." 

One of the first things that impressed itself 
upon my mind was the similarity between the 
outward forms of the Eoman Catholic cere- 
monial and that in a Buddhist or Lamaist tem- 
ple ; but this was noted not only by missionaries 
of the Christian Church, on their first visits to 
Thibet and China, but also by students of com- 
parative religions who have given the matter 
serious study that has resulted in many vol- 
umes of controversy. Yet Sven Hedin, who 
noted this similarity during his journey into 
Thibet, was obliged to cite many references to 



268 The Spell of China 

prove his contentions. H. H. Wilson, the 
Sanskrit scholar, says : "They all agree in the 
resemblance between the religion of the Lamas 
and Christianity.'* 

Dr. T. W. Bhys Davids, another authority, 
says: ''Lamaism indeed with its shaven 
priests, its bells and rosaries, its images and 
holy water and gorgeous dresses; its services 
with double choirs and processions and creeds 
and mystic rites and incense, in which the laity 
are spectators only; its worship of the double 
virgin and of saints and angels, its images, its 
idols and its pictures ; its huge monasteries and 
its gorgeous cathedrals, its powerful hierarchy, 
its cardinals, its Pope, bears outwardly at least 
a strong resemblance to Eomanism, in spite 
of the essential difference of its teachings and 
its mode of thought.'* 

The resemblance was noticed by the monks 
of the Middle Ages, and many Catholic mis- 
sionaries have written exhaustively upon the 
subject, arguing that instead of proving that 
Christianity borrowed anything from the older 
religion it proves conclusively that Lamaism, 
a form of Buddhism, and Buddhism itself, rec- 
ognized the superiority of Christianity and in- 
corporated the forms of worship in a way that 
would barely be recognized. 




LAMA TEMPLE^ I'EKIXG 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 269 

Buddhists go much further than this, how- 
ever, and note a strange similarity between the 
legends that surround the founder of their re- 
ligion and the Christian gospels, according to 
Luke and John. For example, the stories re- 
garding the mother of Buddha are strangely 
like the descriptions of the Virgin Mary in the 
Christian gospels. Wise men came to pay 
hom.age to both children soon after their birth, 
there was the presentation of both in the Tem- 
ple, both fasted and went into the wilderness, 
both seemed more concerned with the salvation 
of the meek and lowly than of the rich, and 
both selected their disciples from among the 
humble classes. As to these ** resemblances," 
however, most of them have been swept away 
by "higher criticism." Jesus Christ fasted, 
and so did Buddha; but so also did Moses 
(Exodus xxxiv ; 28). Jesus was tempted by the 
Devil, and Buddha was tempted in similar 
fashion by Mara, who brought troops of beauti- 
ful women, who sang and danced and endeav- 
ored to cause him to break his vows of chastity ; 
but other prophets were tempted, even before 
the Buddha was born. And as ''higher 
criticism" disposes of these points in Western 
countries, so the "intellectuals" of China are 
coming to regard Buddhism as no faith at all, 



270 The SpeU of China 

but rather as a system of philosophy. An 
hour's conversation with one who knows his 
subject well, is likely at least to have the effect 
of embarrassing the Westerner, who has 
thought of the people who follow the teach- 
ings of Buddha — one-third of the human race 
— as idolaters. One of them called my atten- 
tion to the fact that the Buddha is a saint of 
the Roman Catholic Church, and referred me 
to Max MuUer's *' Chips from a German Work- 
shop," if I doubted his word, or cared to in- 
form myself further concerning the canoniza- 
tion ceremonies at Eome. 

It is not correct, however, to speak of Buddha 
as if it were the name of the founder of the re- 
ligion. As we speak of Jesus Christ, instead of 
Jesus the Christ, this form has come into com- 
mon use. Buddha, however, is an official title, 
and it is correct to speak of him as Sakya-muni 
the Buddha. 

The father of Buddha was the powerful Ra- 
jah Suddhodana, and his mother, the daughter 
of a neighboring chieftain, was forty years of 
age at the time of his birth. It is recorded that 
she died within a few days of this great event, 
that having given birth to such a sacred per- 
sonage she should have no more children. The 
Lalita-Vistara, a Sanskrit work, has much to 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 271 

say regarding her qualities and perfection, and 
also describes Buddha as a young man. He 
had a ''large skull. His forehead is broad, his 
eyes dark. His forty teeth are equal and beau- 
tifully white, his skin is fine and of the color 
of gold. His limbs are like those of Ainaya, 
the king of the gazelles. His head is well 
shaped; his hair black and curly." 

It appears that he awakened to religious 
ideals when he was about thirty years of age, 
although there is no way of determining the 
exact date in regard to any of these things, as 
the oriental savants place his birth in 1027 b. c, 
and European scholars prefer the date 653 b. c. 
He was married and his wife gave birth to one 
child before he started away into the jungle. 
He took one glance at his offspring, declaring 
that he would not return until he had become a 
Buddha (Enlightened One) and left the palace, 
accompanied only by his chariot-driver, whom 
he later sent back to his father bearing every- 
thing of value in his possession. He went to 
Brahman teachers for a period and then into re- 
tirement in the Vindhya Mountains, where he 
followed the life of a strict ascetic for six years. 
When he returned to the region around Benares 
he was accompanied by fifty or sixty disciples 
and taught and preached. Word came to his 



272 The Spell of China 

father of the son's return and the family went 
out to meet him, urging him to come back to 
the palace and resume his rightful station in 
life. But he preferred to beg for a living, and 
not even an appeal from his father to visit his 
abandoned wife and child seems to have had 
much effect, for although he did see his wife, 
she became a Buddhist nun, when the founder 
of the religion, somewhat against his will, es- 
tablished the order for females. 

When he was eighty-two years of age Buddha 
started on a journey of over a hundred miles 
north of Benares. He appeared to be much fa- 
tigued during the journey and when he arrived 
at his destination he threw himself upon a 
couch and his disciples observed many super- 
natural signs that foretold the coming of some 
great event. During the night, when they 
visited his couch, to see how he was resting, he 
*'had fallen into the profound ecstasy of the 
elect from which no man returns or is born 
again; no, not one." The disciples reported 
afterward that they heard music chanted by 
celestial choirs and saw forms floating in the 
air. 

Not long after his death, missionaries car- 
ried his gospel into Thibet, where it was 
quickly received by multitudes. It seems not 




WHITE JADE AND GOLD BUDDHA^ PEKING 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 273 

to have penetrated into China until the year 
67 A. D. Shortly before, the Emperor, Ming-Ti, 
despatched messengers to India with instruc- 
tions to learn what they could of the religion 
of Buddha and to bring back Buddhist mission- 
aries. They returned with the teachers and 
brought a horse-load of Scriptures. When the 
horse died, it was buried on the spot now 
marked by the "White Horse Temple," at Ho- 
nan City, the first temple erected to the wor- 
ship of Buddha in the land of Confucius. Be- 
fore long, the Sutras were translated into Chi- 
nese. India sent more missionaries and 
teachers, and the converts to Buddhism in 
China visited India for further instruction. 
The Emperor was a convert and a strong be- 
liever in the new doctrine, and with court fa- 
vor the religion spread rapidly. 

Lamaism, a form of Buddhism, came into 
China from Thibet in the Thirteenth Century, 
the great Kublai Khan making a Thibetan priest 
his chaplain. For a time, the corrupt form of 
the faith took precedence over purer Buddhism. 
It is difficult in a short time to gain even a su- 
perficial knowledge of the teachings of Budd- 
hism, which has now divided itself into as 
many sects as Christian Protestantism. J. 
M. Kennedy, in " The Philosophies and Re- 



274 The Spell of China 

ligions of the East," sums up briefly what may 
be taken as the fundamentals and basis of the 
religion : 

(1) Misery invariably accompanies exist- 
ence. 

(2) Every type of existence, whether of man 
or of animals, results from passion or desire. 

(3) There is no freedom from existence but 
by the annihilation of desire. 

(4) Desire may be destroyed by following 
the eight paths leading to Nirvana. 

In a few words, the * ' Eight Paths " are : right 
views, right feelings, right words, right be- 
havior, right exertion, right obedience, right 
memory and right meditations. 

Unlike Christianity, however. Buddhism has 
no Savior as a mediator ; but teaches that man 
must depend upon himself alone to attain su- 
preme moral perfection. And no claim is made 
that any of the writings of Buddha, or the 
words from him reported by his disciples, were 
divinely inspired. His message was from a 
leader of men to mankind, and whem it reached 
China, Korea and Japan, it seems to have been 
the first message of a life existing after death. 

Kung-fu-tze, whose name is better known to 
the Western world in its Latinized form of Con- 
fuciuS; seems to have been the fountain head 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 275 

of all the Chinese wisdom during the last two 
thousand years, and Confucianism has exer- 
cised a greater power for good upon the nation 
than any other system of philosophy. He was 
not the founder of a religion and doubtless 
never claimed to be, but he made a collection of 
the classical writings that served as an ethical 
code, and by the example of his own life won 
devoted followers, who have been numerous 
during all succeeding centuries. In fact. Yuan 
Shih-k'ai, the late president, was not only an ar- 
dent Confucianist, but the first republican re- 
gime is believed to have done everything in its 
power to renew the nation's interest in what is 
doubtless a system that has outgrown its use- 
fulness. Confucius was bom 551 b. c. and com- 
paratively little authentic information has come 
to us concerning his youth, excepting that his 
father died when he was very young, that his 
mother was poor and that he was married when 
he was nineteen. When he was twenty-two or 
twenty-three years of age he became a teacher. 
In 510 B. c. he was governor of Chung-tu, where 
his teaching and personal conduct led to a great 
reformation among his immediate subjects. 
About 497 B. c. he gathered several disciples 
and started on long tours through the country, 
extending his teaching to peoples of other prov- 



276 The Spell of China 

inces. In 479 b. c. lie died, and his followers 
compiled his sayings into books that became 
what has been considered the Chinese model 
system of morality. These books have been the 
basis of native scholarship and have been more 
available to the masses than the Buddhist canon 
which in Chinese is said to consist of nearly 
fifteen hundred works and over five thousand 
volumes, many of which have never been col- 
lated by European scholars. Nearly two cen- 
turies after Confucius, appeared Meng-tse, 
known to us as Mencius, who was an eloquent 
expounder of the Confucian system and whose 
message seems to have been that man should 
collect and utilize benevolence, wisdom and pro- 
priety. A temple was erected to Confucius at 
his native town of Chu-f ou, and by imperial or- 
der similar temples were erected in most of the 
large cities of the country, where supreme hom- 
age was paid to his memory. 

Taoism, another important system in China, 
usually dates back to Lao-tze, born at Honan in 
604 B. c, although it seems likely that alche- 
mists and geomancers formulated their own de- 
vices and ascribed them to the teachings of the 
famous man whose name gave them added pres- 
tige. Lao-tze seems to have taught that men 
should not strive, but should always pursue a 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 277 

course of inaction, because things will come to a 
successful conclusion without effort. ''Never 
interfere and let things take their natural 
course" was his rather aristocratic echo of Con- 
fucian doctrine. But the Taoists began to 
claim to make ''pills of immortality," and 
painted beautiful word pictures of the "Island 
in the Eastern Sea," where the elixir of life 
might be found. One who had a full knowledge 
of Taoist mysteries, it was declared, might 
ascend bodily to heaven on the wings of a stork. 
The religion received an impetus from the su- 
perstitious emperor, Shih-huang-ti, in the 
Third Century, b. c, who actually despatched 
a commission to the "Eastern Sea" in search of 
the mythical island and its herb of immortality. 
This religion was popular with many succeed- 
ing rulers, Emperor Chen-tsung of Sung hav- 
ing caused the building of a colossal monastery, 
where twenty thousand Taoist priests were 
gathered for the practice of weird rites. But 
with the coming to China of Kublai Khan, the 
religion lost imperial favor, owing to the prece- 
dence of Lamaism, but it was later revived and 
remains to-day, although most of the ritual and 
ceremonial of the present has been borrowed 
from Buddhism. 

Christianity was introduced into China as 



278 The Spell of China 

early as 625 a. d., by the Nestorian fathers, who 
seem to have gained considerable influence, 
judging from the inscriptions on a monument 
set up in 782 a. d. at Si-an, and excavated in 
modern times. But the date usually considered 
the one that marks the real beginning of Chris- 
tian missionary work in China is 1580, when 
Matteo Eicci, an Italian Jesuit, preached 
throughout the region between Canton and 
Nanking, over a period of twenty years. When 
he went to Peking he was thoughtful enough 
to take along a set of astronomical instruments, 
by means of which he won the favor of the Em- 
peror, who gave Eicci and other missionaries 
who had joined him a residence in the Inner 
City and ground on which to build a church, 
which became what is now known as ''South 
Cathedral." In addition to their spiritual 
work, the Eoman Catholic missionaries have 
performed many good works for China, such 
as map-making, and, despite periodical persecu- 
tions, they have held their own and are repre- 
sented in most of the cities of the country. The 
introduction of Protestantism is usually dated 
to the arrival of the Englishman, Eobert Mor- 
rison, who, after tremendous labor, published 
an Anglo-Chinese dictionary and was active in 
the work of translating the Bible into Chinese. 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 279 

American missionaries began to arrive about 
1830, and to-day all sects and denominations are 
represented and they have had much to do with 
the present period of enlightenment that is evi- 
dent in all parts of the country. 

Christianity as taught in the Gospels, and 
religion as defined in the Old Testament, seem 
to be divided from Chinese religions by a chasm 
difficult to cross, and yet, as hinted, there is 
much in Buddhism that corresponds to Chris- 
tian teaching, and there is a strange conformity 
of passages in the ancient Chinese sacred books 
with the Mosaic record. Emile Bard has com- 
piled a collection of these in his "Chinese 
Life," from which the following are fair ex- 
amples : 

"There is life that did not receive life." — Lie-tse. 

"He who is himself the beginning and the end, created 
heaven and earth." — Tchuang-tse. 

"The inordinate desire for knowledge, caused the downfall 
of the human race." — Ho-nan-tse. 

"Waters spread over the face of the earth covering all 
things." — Confucius. 

Of all Peking places of worship, however, of 
all temples and shrines in China, and perhaps 
of the many that I have visited in various parts 
of the world, from the *'High Place" of the 
Nabbataeans in the Arabian Desert, to Philae in 



280 The Spell of China 

Egypt and the Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek, or 
St. Peter's at Rome and the Mosque of Omar at 
Jerusalem, none have left such a vivid impres- 
sion as the Temple of Heaven and the Altar 
of Heaven, where the ** called of God an High 
Priest, after the order of Melchisedec" (He- 
brews V : 10) the Son of Heaven paid homage to 
the Supreme Being at least once a year, so long 
as he occupied the Dragon Throne. The Mo- 
hammedans point to a little altar in the Church 
of the Holy Sepulcher at Jerusalem and say 
that it is the center of the universe. But even 
the smiling guides and priests admit that it is 
not so ; such a place would be worthy of a more 
beautiful chapel, shrine or monument. The 
Chinese point to a circular slab of white marble 
in the center of the great Altar of Heaven, 
which has the blue dome of the sky for a canopy, 
and say not only that here is the center of the 
world, a matter that is open to debate, but also 
that in this spot the emperors of China, as 
earthly vice-regents, communed with the Su- 
preme Being, a declaration that barely admits 
of argument. In these later days even the Chi- 
nese seemingly have neglected this Holy of 
Holies, to which no infidels were admitted in 
an earlier day. In his sublime egotism, but 
with a full knowledge of what is latent in the 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 281 

Chinese mind, the late Yuan Shih-k'ai promised 
his people that if they recognized him as em- 
peror he would go to the Temple of Heaven and 
sacrifice. If there was anything in the world 
that would convince them that he was a true 
Chinaman, and anything that was likely to 
cause them to believe that the Supreme Being 
was reconciled to the latest seizure of the 
Dragon Throne, it was this, and Yuan realized 
it. But often led to enthusiasm by similar 
"concessions" of usurpers, the people were un- 
moved by Yuan's appeals to their religious su- 
perstitions. The Manchu emperor, Kuang-hsu, 
had ascended to his imperial ancestors on the 
back of the Great Dragon and the Chinese 
seemed to doubt if the Supreme Being would re- 
ceive the customary homage from the commoner 
from Honan, who had assumed the vice-regency. 
At least, he was not given the opportunity to 
mount the great altar and assume the position 
of High Priest. President by his own cunning, 
strategy and by force of circumstances, yes; 
but Yuan was never a sacred personage, even 
in the eyes of his admirers. 

So the weeds and shrubs crop through the 
marvelous white marble pavement and splen- 
didly carved balustrades of the Altar of 
Heaven. A progressive executive may see to it 



282 The Spell of China 

that this splendid religious monument is re- 
paired and preserved for future generations; 
but, likely as not, it has been the scene of the 
last great ceremonial, and, while devout Chi- 
nese may prostrate themselves before the tab- 
let of the Supreme Divinity or the tablets of 
the emperors in the great blue-roofed pagoda- 
like Temple, the day of imperial sacrifice is 
over and worshipers will not follow the of- 
ficiating officer, the High Priest, as they make 
their prostrations and recite prayers. The 
sheep, descendants of those formerly selected 
for sacrifice, graze at random through the great 
walled inclosure of three miles. The silk does 
not pass the gate, nor the rice, wine and food. 
The dancers and the numerous orchestra re- 
main beyond the walls, and the great furnaces 
of green porcelain are cool, because no fire is 
kindled beneath their ovens. The vast cast- 
iron braziers, where prayers were burned, have 
no ashes to remind one of the last ceremonial. 
Hawk-like guardians stand at the Great Gate, 
through which the emperor passed when he 
came on his nocturnal mission from the Purple 
Palace, and fling open the portals when they see 
a rikisha deposit a visitor who carries a fee in 
his hand. 
There is a long, paved avenue leading through 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 283 

an evergreen grove, as througli a long city 
park. At times it is possible to see the cnpola- 
like peak of blue tiles which pierces the skyline 
above the Temple of Heaven, but as there are 
many walls, buildings and bridges to be passed 
en route, and as everything remains about as it 
was when the great inclosure was created for 
the prayers of the Emperor to the Supreme 
God, in the Fifteenth Century, the reader will 
not only visit the numerous points of interest 
but will like to recall in passing something of 
the nature of the ceremonial which was discon- 
tinued in recent years. The time of the im- 
perial visit was on the night of December 22, 
and on special occasions of drought or famine, 
when he made a special appeal for his suffer- 
ing subjects. The emperor left the palace 
after sunset, and in olden times was drawn 
over the route in a cart pulled by elephants, a 
large herd of which was kept in the imperial 
stables, specially constructed to provide quar- 
ters for thirty or more. In later years, because 
the climate of Peking was not favorable to 
elephants, the Son of Heaven was carried in a 
litter, accompanied by about two thousand 
courtiers, two hundred and thirty-four mu- 
sicians and the same number of dancers. A 
Taoist priest walked ahead of him, bearing an 



284 The Spell of China 

ancient copper image about fifteen inches in 
height, upon which he kept his eyes, until he 
reached the Temple Gate. Once arrived there, 
he inspected the sheep, deer — and, in early- 
days, the horses — that were later to be sacri- 
ficed during the ceremony. 

The first building visited was the temple 
called the ''Hall of Fasting," where he sat for 
some time in contemplation and prayer, after 
which he took off the robes of his station as em- 
peror and put on the robes of his office as the 
High Priest of China. He passed along the 
white marble paving to the magnificent temple 
where he paid homage to the tablet of Shang-ti 
(Supreme God) to the tablets of the emperors 
and to those of the gods of heaven and earth, 
wind, cloud, rain and lightning. Then he ap- 
proached the Altar of Heaven, a triple terraced 
white marble elevation that is two hundred feet 
wide at the base and which rises about fifteen 
feet from the ground. The posts and balconies 
of each terrace are ornately carved and the 
upper surface is paved with marble blocks 
forming nine centric circles, the innermost con- 
sisting of nine blocks and that on the out- 
side of eighty-one blocks. On the central stone, 
which is a perfect circle, and which the visitor 
is now invited to tap with his walking-stick or 



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Imperial Purple Metropolis 285 

umbrella handle to hear the hollow echo from 
beneath, which our guide assured us was proof 
that beneath it was a well "that reaches to the 
center of the earth," the emperor knelt, sur- 
rounded by his numerous court. White and 
blue silk, pieces of blue jade, a symbol of 
heaven, and cups of rice wine were brought to 
the High Priest; the cup of wine was drunk 
(strangely in the manner of the Jewish Paschal 
sacrifice) and a piece of blue wood on which a 
prayer was written was placed before him and 
he chanted the words, whereupon he knocked 
his forehead on the stone and the choir of mu- 
sicians struck up a hymn of thanksgiving and 
the dancers began to move about in slow, 
rhythmic posturings still characteristic of as- 
sistants at oriental ceremonials in the temple. 
The silk was burned, so was the blue prayer 
tablet, and the animals, which were slaughtered 
and placed in the oven, after their hides had 
been buried. The Son of Heaven, emperor and 
High Priest, stood erect on the altar with all his 
princes and officials and watched the sacred 
flames as they mounted to the midnight sky, 
while acolytes passed among the company burn- 
ing incense. 

This must have been one of the impressive 
religious spectacles of the world, one that was 



286 The Spell of China 

more mysterious than the gathering of the car- 
dinals around the Pope in the Sistine chapel, 
the processions of the hierarchy in the presence 
of the Delai Lama at Lhassa, or even the Mo- 
hammedan pilgrims making their circuit of the 
Kaaba at Mecca. One thinks of the Roman 
Coliseum lighted with flaming torches, as the 
audience looked into the vast arena to witness 
the games. It is true that features of the cele- 
bration were ''heathenish," when viewed from 
the distance of our own time ; but there was lit- 
tle to suggest the worship of carved images, as 
the entire Altar and Temple are singularly lack- 
ing in these and given more to blank walls and 
vast spaces. The image held before the eye of 
the emperor was not ''worshiped," but was 
intended to direct his attention from all worldly 
things, inspiring him to contemplation of the 
Great Unseen and All Powerful. 

It is a short rikisha ride beyond the walls of 
the Temple of Heaven to similar walls and a 
similar inclosure of about three hundred acres 
in which is the Temple of Agriculture. The 
park in the latter, however, unlike the other, is 
usually much occupied by natives, who like to 
make a recreation ground of any temple court- 
yard, and find the shade of the trees in the park 
a comfortable place to spend the afternoon with 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 287 

friends, drinking tea and smoking. As noted 
in an earlier chapter, however, my visit to the 
Temple of Agriculture was cut short by the 
terrible odor and the explanation of the guide 
that the remains of General Chong reposed in 
the building awaiting a propitious day for bur- 
ial. But on the balcony of a tea-house within 
the grounds, I listened to a guide relate the in- 
teresting story of this temple, where, as at the 
other, the emperor was accustomed to come at 
stated intervals, performing ceremonies almost 
as complicated in form as when he presided at 
the Temple of Heaven as High Priest. Before 
the Son of Heaven set out on a journey he came 
here to offer sacrifice to the gods of the moun- 
tains, valleys, rivers and plains. On other oc- 
casions he made similar sacrifice to the gods of 
snow, wind and rain; and when there was de- 
sired rain, snow or wind, he made another trip 
to offer prayers of thanksgiving. Some of the 
ritualistic prayers delivered after a successful 
harvest were strangely similar to the annual 
proclamation of the President of the United 
States preceding Thanksgiving Day and declar- 
ing it a legal holiday. Here also, it was the 
custom for the emperor to take off his royal 
robes, assume the role of a peasant, follow an 
imperial-yellow plow, drawn by an ox draped in 



288 The Spell of China 

yellow and led by an official also dressed in yel- 
low garments. He plowed nine furrows and 
the princes followed him and scattered the seed, 
while imperial choristers chanted anthems in 
praise of husbandry. It is said that this spec- 
tacular ceremony dates from the Emperor 
Shun, who flourished in 2200 b. c, and being a 
practical farmer, was particularly concerned 
with agriculture, which has always held a place 
of importance and dignity in China. The ex- 
ample was followed by succeeding emperors. 
When they had plowed, it was the signal for all 
others to do likewise. The practice was not 
unlike that of the Empress of Japan feeding her 
silk worms, a matter of sufficient importance 
at the present time to be chronicled in the news- 
papers of the capital. If Her Majesty tends 
silk worms, then it is a dignified and popular 
pastime for other women, with the result that 
the country yields a larger quantity of silk 
than might have been the case without the 
illustrious encouragement. If the Son of 
Heaven could place his hands to the plow and 
turn the furrow, if the noble princes could walk 
behind him and scatter grain, why should not 
his subjects be willing to do likewise? And if 
they did, there would be food enough for all, 
one of the most important problems in all China 



Imperial Purple Metropolis 289 

for the officials to wrestle with two thousand 
years before the dawn of the Christian era, just 
as it is to-day. 



CHAPTEE XI 

IN FORBIDDEN PAiACBS 

!)HINGS have moved rapidly in China in the 
last few years, and thus were undergoing 
a great change during the days preceding 
my visit. The Empress Dowager, whom a dip- 
lomat once described as "the only man in 
China," is dead and lies in her tomb. The un- 
fortunate young emperor is dead. The Man- 
chus have been driven from the throne forever 
and Yuan Shih-k'ai, the President, lies with his 
ancestors in Honan. The present Manchu em- 
peror, now about ten years of age, with a few 
members of his family, is caged up in a corner 
of the Forbidden City, and is little more than a 
state prisoner. General Li Yuan-Hung, an en- 
lightened executive, shares few of the fears and 
superstitions of his predecessors, so my apph- 
cation to be permitted to visit the almost un- 
known precincts of the Forbidden City and the 
Imperial Summer Palace was quickly answered 
by receipt of the much envied document that 
opened doors usually so impassable to foreign- 
ers a few years ago. 

290 



In Forbidden Palaces 291 

So I spent a day at Wan-Shou-Shan, the won- 
derful pile that rises on the banks of the Kun- 
ming-hu, a clear fresh water lake about eleven 
miles to the west of Peking. It was the favor- 
ite residence of the late Dowager Empress, and 
by paying rather insignificant fees demanded by 
the wretched palace attendants, I was enabled 
to tread on what was *'holy ground" only five 
or six years ago, and to go over the scenes of 
the principal events in the life of one of the 
most remarkable of women in the past century, 
old Hsi-Tai-Hou, the she-devil who sat on the 
Dragon Throne and conducted affairs with a 
high-handed authority, much of her own mak- 
ing, but rarely equaled elsewhere on earth. 

Tsze Hsi An, or Hsi-Tai-Hou did not like the 
Forbidden City of Peking and she made any 
excuse to retire to her country palace, which was 
destroyed by the English as a "lesson" to the 
Chinese in 1860, thus giving her the opportunity 
to rebuild it in all the barbaric splendor that a 
whimsical old despot could conceive, one who 
reveled in power and money and seemed to live 
only to gratify her own desires. 

An automobile called for me at an early hour 
in the morning. It seemed almost that I had 
been summoned to court, for the old Empress 
often held audiences at six o 'clock in the morn- 



292 The SpeU of China 

ing, and her courtiers, or others to whom she 
gave audience, who spent the night in Peking, 
were obliged to leave their homes at two or three 
o'clock in the morning, in order to he present 
at the appointed time. But Hsi-Tai-Hou did 
not care about inconvenience to any one else. 
She had made herself supreme by overcoming 
all obstacles. She remained supreme until the 
end. Every one acted exactly as she com- 
manded. If they did not, they received from 
her the silken cord (an invitation to commit sui- 
cide) poison was placed in their food, or they 
were made aware of her displeasure by slapping 
them in the face, thus degrading and humiliat- 
ing them. According to "backstairs" gossip, 
which I heard, she even went so far as to ad- 
minister a good resounding slap in the face to 
her generals, if they displeased her. I was well- 
prepared for the visit, because the evening be- 
fore I spent four hours with the husband of the 
Manchu Princess Der Ling, who was for two 
years first lady-in-waiting to Her Majesty, ac- 
knowledged to be a prime favorite at court, and 
the author of a fascinating volume on her ex- 
periences in the Forbidden City. But while as- 
suredly Der Ling told the truth, she did not tell 
all of the truth. There were too many people 
still living when she wrote. She is said to be 



In Forbidden Palaces 293 

planning anotlier volume that will be more ' 'per- 
sonal" than the first. She has a fund of un- 
believable stories that are likely to cause the 
world to sit up and take notice when they are 
printed. Her husband gave me some first-hand 
information about affairs at the Chinese court 
under the Dowager Empress that sounded more 
like the romances of Dumas than modern fact, 
and they whetted my appetite to see at least the 
scenes in which this remarkable woman moved. 

That the Empress liked to watch human be- 
ings undergoing torture is a well-known fact 
easily explained no doubt by the criminologists. 
Der Ling tells in her book that the Empress 
would have her coolies and eunuchs beaten and 
lashed for her own personal entertainment and 
satisfaction, but she omitted one important fact. 
One day when she was walking in the garden of 
the palace with the imperial lady, the Empress 
flew into a rage about something. She com- 
manded a coolie to kneel before her, and with 
her own hands she pounded his head to a pulp 
with a bamboo and with a smile on her face 
watched her victim expire. 

But the Empress is gone — otherwise I could 
not have passed the outside gates, although a 
few persons were permitted to do so on state 
occasions ''for state reasons." The Empress 



294 The SpeU of China 

is gone and the Mancliii sun is set, there being 
not the slightest hope among the faithful that 
the Emperor will ever occupy the throne of his 
ancestors. He is a prisoner in the hands of poli- 
ticians and his is a lost cause. And the magnifi- 
cent Summer Palace, lately the scene of courtly 
revelry that almost equaled the splendors of the 
court of Louis XIV of France, is fast going to 
decay. There is none to keep it in repair for 
future generations, as France has done at Ver- 
sailles. The Manchu dynasty left such a trail 
of horrors behind it that nobody seems to wish 
to recall them. I have never seen such abso- 
lute poverty amid such magnificent surround- 
ings, and I doubt if similar scenes could be 
equaled elsewhere on earth. Doomsday has 
come for the Summer Palace and its once stately 
retinue. 

Soon after I had passed the towering arch at 
the entrance and passed through various court- 
yards ornamented by magnificent bronze images 
set on white marble bases, after I had inspected 
the pavilion of the Empress with its magnificent 
treasures heaped into corners, as if ready for 
speedy departure, six rowers came up to the 
marble balcony and invited me to take a ride on 
the lake in the barge in which the Empress took 
such delight when she sat in state, surrounded 



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THE PAVILION^ SUMMER PALACE 



In Forbidden Palaces 295 

by musicians, courtiers, fortune-tellers and the 
strange retinue with which she surrounded her- 
self. They were eager to take me — just how 
eager I did not understand at the time. One 
does not receive such attentions ordinarily from 
the personal attendants of an empress. Yet 
these men, who doubtless served their mistress 
well — else they would not have lived until the 
present time — acted like a pack of hungry 
wolves. So I shall digress a bit in the story of 
my day among them, just as I did in reality. I 
shall postpone telling of the wonders of that 
barge-trip on the lake and quote a few of these 
men, who were as eager to talk as they were to 
row, because they saw an extra coin for their 
trouble. 

It is believed at Peking that the Dowager Em- 
press spent about fifty millions of dollars on this 
palace and the grounds surrounding it, money 
that was appropriated for the Chinese navy. 
The grim old lady had her little joke. If it was 
money for a navy, then she would build a boat 
with some of it, so she caused to be constructed 
the wonderful white marble pavilion that sits 
out into the lake in the form of a boat floating 
on the water. She maintained a numerous 
court, and this court required the services of a 
small army of men. It is said that she had over 



296 The Spell of China 

a thousand eunuchs, one of whom had more 
power than any one else in the realm, save the 
old lady herself, and in many ways he was the 
real ruler of China during her later days, be- 
cause of his influence over her. Every one at 
court was waited upon by some one else. So 
the army grew and grew. The population of 
the palace was that of a small city. 

Eunuchs were the privilege of the ruler and 
of certain members of the royal family. The 
first mention of them in China is back in 1100 
B. c, under the Chu dynasty ; but they had no 
official standing until about the Eleventh Cen- 
tury of our era, under the Emperor Ho-Ti, 
whose troups are supposed to have gone as far 
west as Judea. In ancient (and modern) times, 
the emperor of China was entitled to three 
thousand eunuchs, while princes and princesses 
were entitled to thirty each, nephews and young 
children of the Emperor to twenty each, and 
cousins of the Emperor to ten each. They were 
formerly provided for the palace by the Chi- 
nese princes, each of whom was expected to sup- 
ply eight eunuchs for his imperial master every 
ten years. But it was customary for the Em- 
peror to pay for his gifts at the rate of two 
hundred fifty taels each. Being the tribute of 
the princes, the latter were responsible for their 



In Forbidden Palaces 297 

behavior and it was necessary to know that they 
had been in service for a term of years before 
entering the palace gates. It was the custom 
of many families throughout the empire to sell 
their children for this purpose and a register for 
applicants was kept at the palace. About three 
hundred eunuchs usually made up a company of 
actors and givers of exhibitions for the amuse- 
ment of the court, while several of them were 
lamas, whose duty it was to look after the 
spiritual needs of the royal family. The body 
of eunuchs was divided into forty-eight distinct 
classes, each with special duties and privileges. 
All of them, however, enjoyed permission to 
smoke opium. 

Then, one day, the old lady died and the old 
order was quickly changed. The republic came 
and there was a multitude of men without jobs, 
men wholly unfitted for service elsewhere, yet 
men who had given practically their whole lives 
for their imperial mistress. The republican 
Chinese government decided to pension them, 
and in its desire to show its gratitude towards 
faithful public servants it voted them four dol- 
lars a month and a bag of rice each. 

Many of the men were married and had fam- 
ilies before they entered the government serv- 
ice. And even if they were unmarried, the pinch 



298 The SpeU of China 

of living on one dollar a week was too mucli. 
Perhaps they made ends meet at first, but now 
they are literally starving. The palace is 
crumbling to decay, but men being less sturdy 
than yellow tiles and stones, are preceding it. 
One day, if they live long enough, the walls 
literally will fall over their poor, lean bodies and 
end their suffering; and the Chinese govern- 
ment will have '^ solved" the imperial servant 
problem in a way that China has of solving all 
similar problems. 

One by one, I told them to put down their oars 
and come and sit beside me as they told their 
story, which was interpreted by a guide who 
fortunately spoke the ''Mandarin" Chinese. 
Some of them looked like apes, with hair 
cropped so that it fell to the shoulders in a 
shaggy mane, decayed teeth, skin that seemed 
to cling to their bones, dirty bare feet and long 
fingernails, which one of them assured me 
proved that they are not ''laborers," nor of a 
common class. 

"I always hated the 'Old Buddha,* as we used 
to call her," said the first. "I hated her be- 
cause she had us whipped so unmercifully. No, 
she never whipped me and she never ordered 
me to be whipped by others, but she had my 
best friend lashed with bamboo until he died, 



In Forbidden Palaces 299 

just because she became angry at something for 
which he was not at all at fault. She said it 
would be an example to the rest of us. See 
there!" 

He pointed to a marble platform with carved 
steps of the same stone, that came down near 
to the water's edge. **That is where she used 
to sit and fish. She did not order enough fish 
put into the lake, and I guess they were not 
hungry; anyway, they did not bite much and 
she did not catch many. When she would sit 
there and fish for a time without any results, 
she would call a servant and have him lashed 
with bamboo. That was the way of the 'Old 
Buddha.'" 

' ' I liked her, ' ' said number two. * ' I liked her 
because while she was a wicked woman and 
whipped us, we were all well taken care of when 
she was alive, and we would have food enough 
to-day if she were alive. Sometimes on her 
birthday, she would send a dollar to each of us. 
We even received a bag of rice in addition to 
all." 

"I never saw Hsi-Tai-Hou, " said one cow- 
ering individual, who seemed to think that he 
was on the witness stand. **No, I was in her 
employ for fourteen years, but I never once 
laid eyes on her. They sent me over there on 



300 The Spell of China 

the island with the emperor and told me that 
she did not like to be seen, and that when I knew 
she was coming that way I must get out of sight. 
I had heard of her whippings, so I never dis- 
obeyed, and in all the fourteen years I never 
once looked up as she passed, for I usually con- 
cealed myself in the shrubbery and kept my 
head bowed and my eyes closed, when she came 
along. ' ' 

Another told me that all the palace servants 
knew of several instances in which the old lady 
had commanded her high officials to come to 
her for what was a **show" occasion. They 
came in full uniform and knelt before her. 
Then she walked up to them and gave them a re- 
sounding slap across the cheek that almost 
floored them. 

She sat when she ate her meals, but sat alone, 
and permitted nobody in the palace to eat a meal 
until after she had finished hers. The palace 
grounds are extensive and the old lady liked to 
exercise in the air. Sometimes she would walk, 
but oftener she preferred to be carried in a 
chair or litter. If it suited her fancy to stray 
away from her pavilion two or three miles and 
if she were suddenly overtaken by hunger her 
meals were prepared and carried in a proces- 
sion behind her, by servants, being kept warm 



In Forbidden Palaces 301 

on charcoal braziers. Sometimes she would de- 
cide, when three miles away from home, that 
she would rather wear pearls than jade. The 
boxes of jewelry were also carted along behind, 
when she went for an airing, in case she wanted 
to alter her adornments. She was always eat- 
ing and was particularly fond of pork. When 
she knew that the ladies in her train did not rel- 
ish any particular dish she would command them 
to eat it in her presence. She always liked to 
''nibble at" roasted watermelon seeds, so a 
servant carried a dish of these beside her as 
she walked or was carried. I heard thousands 
of these minor details, and then, glancing at my 
watch, I saw that it was time for lunch, and 
as we were in the neighborhood of the Marble 
Boat I had the rowers fetch me up beside this 
beautiful creation, and it pleased me to open 
the box that I had brought from the hotel at an 
inlaid teakwood and mother-of-pearl table 
where old Hsi-Tai-Hou had so often sat at her 
water-melon seeds and pork. 

It was incongruous. But no more so than 
the fact that the old lady's servants, a few years 
ago the wearers of imperial livery, sat beneath 
me on the barge and eagerly snapped at the 
morsels from the bountiful box that I threw to 
them. My stock of cigarettes was low, and, feel- 



302 The Spell of China 

ing that I had only one that I cared to give 
away, I passed it to the man who appeared to 
be the head-rower. He lighted it, took one deep 
puff and passed it around to the others, all of 
whom received at least one coveted taste of 
tobacco, which seemed to be much appreciated. 

Take a beautiful stretch of land, extending 
over hills for something like ten miles, inclose 
in its valley a placid lake, surround its shores 
with a yellow sand walk, with a four-foot white 
carved marble railing, erect magnificent white 
marble bridges at convenient intervals, where 
streams enter into the lake, erect palatial villas 
on the island in the lake, each with its own 
formal gardens, studded with priceless pieces 
of bronze and marble, and from the water's 
edge to the crest of the highest peak at one side 
erect pavilions, palaces and temples, all con- 
nected by miles and miles of ornately painted 
and decorated covered walks, with mosaic tiling 
— and you have spent enough money to bank- 
rupt an empire. 

That is what Hsi-Tai-Hou did, in a way, when 
she built what is known as the Summer Palace. 
It is popularly supposed that she built it with 
the appropriation of fifty millions for the 
Chinese navy, but this seems to be rather con- 
servative. This may have "started the ball 



In Forbidden Palaces 303 

rolling," but it took the income of an empire 
to keep it going. And the Dowager Empress 
did keep it going. Detested by her four hun- 
dred millions of subjects, the old woman never- 
theless had the ability to withstand all oppo- 
sition, and only death could conquer her. The 
nations of the world gave her a severe check 
when they combined against her, but even after 
the Boxer troubles she remained supreme, and 
with all the time, thought and craftiness that it 
must have taken to accomplish such marvels, she 
seems to have had most' of her time to spend 
just as she pleased. She hated the palace at 
Peking, so she lived out in the suburbs, where 
she could spend her time as it suited her whim. 
Even in her fifty million dollar residence she 
had no provision made for heating, but she did 
not mind that. She piled on the clothing and 
told the court to follow her example. The win- 
ters are very cold around Peking, but she did 
not care. A woman's prize is her home, and 
Hsi-Tai-Hou liked hers; she insisted upon liv- 
ing in it. 

Earlier in life, there were many things that 
bothered her. Her son died and then there was 
another empress. But she overcame little dif- 
ficulties like that. "When it came time for the 
emperor to rule, she put him on an island in 



V 



304 The Spell of China 

the middle of the lake, visible from her palace, 
and made him a prisoner. She let him live 
through her '^ mercy" and '* grace" but he was 
a dummy and never was emperor in fact. 

He was not stupid, however, as the world 
was led to believe. Princess Der Ling reports 
that he asked her plainly to tell him if Europe 
and America did not consider him an idiot. Der 
Ling says he was merely an unfortunate man 
who should have sat upon the throne of China ; 
but could not do so, because an old lady was 
there and declined to budge. He had plenty 
of time for reflection, and one day he devised 
a great scheme. He would send for the popular 
Yuan-Shih-k'ai, win him over, upset the throne 
by the aid of Yuan's army and be emperor in 
fact as well as in name. Crafty Yuan heard 
him out and ostensibly started for the South 
to collect his army. But he thought better of it, 
after he had left the Emperor's island dwelling. 
Perhaps his chances would not be so good with 
the Emperor as with the Empress, so he went to 
the old lady, told her what her royal prisoner 
was planning to do and there was a great rum- 
pus in the royal family of China. Hsi-Tai-Hou 
doubled her guard over the Emperor on his is- 
land. In future he was not to be permitted to 
speak, excepting in the presence of witnesses. 



In Forbidden Palaces 305 

When he received visitors, a verbatim report 
of the conversation was delivered to Her Maj- 
esty the following morning. 

There is a mag-nificent white marble arch 
bridge that reaches out from the main land of 
the palace grounds to the island in the lake. It 
was guarded by the old lady's officers. The 
Emperor merely pined away in his palace, wor- 
shiped at his little temple — and waited. Prob- 
ably he dreamed of the day when the "Old 
Buddha" would die and leave the throne to its 
rightful heir, but when Hsi-Tai-Hou realized 
that she was dying she gave instructions to poi- 
son the Emperor within twenty-four hours of 
her demise, or at least that is the version of 
his death believed at Peking. And her com- 
mand was executed. They both passed to their 
ancestors on the same day. 

I asked the rowers of the imperial barge to 
take me to the island palace of the Emperor, 
and I stepped ashore at one of the ends of the 
bridge. The pavilion is sealed up now, but the 
windows are of paper, and ruthless hands have 
poked peep-holes, so that it is possible to look 
inside. Splendid furniture is piled in heaps in 
the corners of the rooms. Beautiful bronzes 
are piled upon one another, like kettles in a junk 
store. Tapestries are rolled up and folded. 



306 The Spell of China 

The occupant of the palace is gone and his 
house looks as if his belongings were to follow 
him^ although as a matter of fact they doubtless 
will be stolen, given away by bribery, or allowed 
to decay ; that is the way in China. The palace 
sits on a little bluff of rock. I was rather lib- 
eral with the attendant who demanded twenty 
cents, if he showed me everything. I gave him 
fifty cents and he was almost ready to throw 
in something for a *' souvenir." He lifted up 
a stone near the emperor's sleeping-room and 
motioned to me to follow him. He went down 
through a carved, rocky passage-way that led 
to the water's edge, but completely hidden from 
sight. I asked him if this was for the purpose 
of escaping across the lake when the time came, 
and he shrugged his shoulders, saying that he 
did not know about such matters. At best, it 
seemed to be no fitting residence for the Son of 
Heaven, the absolute ruler by right over four 
hundred millions of people. 

Then the rowers poked the barge back through 
great fields of flowering lotus, under white mar- 
ble arch bridges to the base of the big audi- 
ence chamber. This, like all of the other build- 
ings, was tiled with imperial yellow of the Mings. 
Most of the tiles were cast in ornamental de- 
signs, many of them having dragons or other 



In Forbidden Palaces 307 

animals upon them. I told one of the boys that 
I wanted an imperial dragon. He climbed up 
the side of the palace and was about to rip one 
from its moorings when a signal of distress 
went to him from the others of the crew. Three 
mandarins were seen coming down the walk 
some distance away. They might detect the 
thief and have him punished, and the poor fel- 
low had such a scare that he did not speak again 
the whole day, partly showing his fright, partly 
his humiliation, because he knew that he had 
"lost face" before me — and partly because he 
expected a few cents reward, which he did not 
get. 

Viewed from a distance, this audience cham- 
ber seems to rise to the crest of the hill. When 
one has passed it he goes through terraces all 
roofed in with the inevitable yellow tile, one 
entire building of bronze, various rest-houses of 
elaborate design, where the late dowager liked 
to stop on her travels upward, and so much 
hewing of rock and tiled splendor that it fairly 
becomes dizzying to the visitor, until one finally 
comes to the magnificent yellow temple that 
crowns the hill. From a distance it was one 
colossal building. In reality, it is perhaps 
thirty or forty of them. "We came back through 
the long covered pathway ornamented with hun- 



308 The Spell of China 

dreds of paintings, setting forth the beauties 
of the Summer Palace and grounds and lake. 
Then to the theater. 

Hsi-Tai-Hou was a liberal patron of the thea- 
ter. She had one of the best playhouses in 
China constructed not far from her pavilion, 
and she did not stop at the theater. She knew 
that she could command the services of the best 
actors in China, so she actually had palatial 
quarters built for them in the courtyard. It is 
roofed with enameled planks, painted screens 
and bronze and marble. Here, says Der Ling, 
the old lady would order a performance for the 
afternoon. Arrived at the theater, the perform- 
ance would begin and old Hsi-Tai-Hou would 
immediately fall asleep and sometimes slumber 
for hours, while the ladies of her retinue were 
obliged to stand — because they were not per- 
mitted to sit in her presence, asleep or awake. 

I was sitting on the stage of her theater, tak- 
ing in the rather grim and solemn spectacle of 
to-day and thinking of the days of old, when a 
youngster perhaps seven years of age came up 
to me with his pigtail flying in the air. He was 
the son of a palace servant. He turned som- 
ersaults, shouted to make echoes, and otherwise 
conducted himself in such an ambitious manner 
that I remarked to the guide that he was clever. 



In Forbidden Palaces 309 

This was communicated to the boy and immedi- 
ately bore fruit. 

'*If I am clever," lie said to me (as inter- 
preted) ''take me to America with you as a 
slave boy. Come, we will go and see my father 
about it now. Give him a little something for 
me and I am sure he will be glad to let me go. ' ' 

''When could you be ready?" I inquired. 

' ' I am ready right now, ' ' he replied. ' ' Come, 
let us go and see my father ' ' — and he tugged at 
my arm, really believing that he saw an escape 
from his palatial poverty. 

As we came back to the outer gate of the pal- 
ace, word had gone around apparently that a 
millionaire philanthropist was in the palace, 
for all the denizens of the palace had aroused 
from their slumber, which causes them to for- 
get the gnawing of hunger. I had rarely seen 
so many palms extended for help, so many 
pleading faces, nor have I heard more genuine 
entreaties for aid. And yet they were in the 
Summer Palace ! They belonged to it, as much 
as did the imperial tile, less than five years ago. 
But thus are they rewarded by a republican gov- 
ernment. Perhaps I must admit to a liking for 
the theatrical. I like "scenes." I have no 
liking for those that are "set" and do not come 
up to expectations, but occasionally one sees 



310 The Spell of China 

a "thriller" that has not been rehearsed, a 
scene that will linger as long as does the mind. 
Such a scene was that when I left the magnificent 
gate of the courtyard of the Dowager Empress 
of China. 

Fortunately, I had made an extensive collec- 
tion of coppers the day before and they were 
still in my pockets. One of them is worth about 
one-half cent in American money. By careful 
distribution, I made them go around the crowd, 
and thus gave one-half cent to each person. 
Some of the recipients literally kowtowed to the 
ground, and all stood with the bowed heads 
of thankfulness. Here was a scene. When 
Hsi-Tai-Hou left her palace in the earlier day, 
all of her attendants kowtowed, because they 
were afraid of her. She had a fifty million dol- 
lar home and she was absolute ruler of four 
hundred millions of people. The gaudy cos- 
tumes were gone, but otherwise the mis-en-scene 
was the same. And for a half-cent I received 
as deep kowtows as did ever the old Buddha 
of the Dragon Throne. So could I be blamed 
for asking myself : What is the use of being rich 
or mighty! 

Coming back from the Summer Palace, it was 
late in the afternoon, but I learned that there 
would be time to pay a visit to the famous Five 



In Forbidden Palaces 311 

Towered Pagoda, known in English as the 
"Temple of the Five Towers." That, as be- 
fore hinted, is one of the joys of going anywhere 
in Peking or environs; there is always some- 
thing to be seen en route, an enumeration of 
which would seem to be merely a page from a 
guidebook. Although Peking stretches far, 
there are pagodas, temples, shrines or palaces 
on the surrounding hills, all worthy of a visit 
from the hurried tourist, and each an interest- 
ing destination for a day's tour from the lei- 
surely-going temporary resident. 

"Wu-ta-szu, as the five-towered temple is 
known to the natives, is much pictured in geog- 
raphies, books of travel, works on architecture 
and upon souvenir postal cards. It is almost 
as distinct a sight as the great bronze Buddha 
at Kamakura, Japan. From the prominence 
given it in the past, I was led to expect it to be 
a jealously guarded treasure, one of those 
places that are so "holy," that it takes a sub- 
stantial fee to unbar the gates for the admission 
of white men. The "fees" were forthcoming, 
as elsewhere in China, but they did not reach 
the palms of priests or officials. Arrived at a 
point in the road, almost a mile from where the 
five spires were visible among the trees, the 
chauffeur stopped his automobile and remarked : 



312 The Spell of China 

'Hhis is as near as I can go, there is no road 
beyond here — only a path." 

Immediately there appeared on the scene one 
of those suddenly assembled crowds which no 
Westerner can understand. Let anything out 
of the ordinary transpire, and the paving stones, 
or where there is no paving, the grains of sand, 
seem suddenly to assume human form. Men, 
women and children crowd the thoroughfare, 
and there is a medley of voices that cannot be 
adequately described, but, which heard, will 
never be forgotten. Presumably, the five-tow- 
ered temple is not visited by all the tourists who 
go to Peking ; at any rate, not by many of them, 
so that a white man in the region is something 
of a curiosity. As quickly as the automobile 
stopped, the road was filled with farmers, their 
wives, sons, daughters and relatives. Some of 
them brought along their forks and other agri- 
cultural implements; others left them in the 
field, and hastened into the roadway. Here was 
one of the great sights of China and a hundred 
natives, ranging in age from six to seventy of- 
fered their services as guides through the rice 
fields to the temple, every one of them not only 
telling of his own ability, but singing forth the 
fact that none of the others were so well-fitted 
for the commission. There is but one thing to 



In Forbidden Palaces 313 

do, under the circumstances, and experience had 
taught me to do it quickly. I engaged a ' ' cour- 
ier" and set out upon my way. 

It was a circuitous route and we were obliged 
to walk single file along the banks of the little 
rice paddies and around the small fields of the 
farmers, many of whom accompanied us part 
way, but one by one resumed their work in the 
fields, which they had left suddenly when they 
saw the opportunity to gain a few pennies with- 
out manual labor. We went past small groups 
of houses, for the Chinese seem to be particu- 
larly fond of the idea of living in "communi- 
ties" and we paused a few moments beside a 
small mud walled yard, where a young man was 
driving a blind-folded ox around a big flat stone, 
on which a young woman was scattering grain. 
Closer inspection showed that the ox was 
hitched to a cylindrical stone which was being 
dragged around over the grain; as primitive a 
method of grinding flour as one is likely to see 
beyond the interior of Africa, and yet this was 
within a few miles of the gates of Peking. 

The temple is in a somewhat delapidated con- 
dition and it seems to be abandoned by all, 
save the peasants and farmers of the vicinity, 
who look upon it as one of their inherited bless- 
ings, because they guide visitors through the rice 



314 The Spell of China 

fields to its entrance. It was built during the 
reign of the Emperor Yung-lo, at the beginning 
of the Fifteenth Century and is strictly in the 
Hindoo style of architecture. It consists of 
a square marble terrace fifty feet in height, 
which may be ascended by a stairway inside. 
From this terrace rise five spires, which are 
covered with Hindoo characters. It was erected 
to shelter five gilt images of Buddha and a model 
of the diamond throne, which were the gift of 
a rich Hindoo, who came from the neighborhood 
of the Ganges. 

The side trip to the temple was not what one 
might have expected it to be, because it was 
another example of China's neglect of her 
great ruins that would delight succeeding gen- 
erations ; but it brought a beautiful golden day 
to a close, one that could not be forgotten, what- 
ever might pass under one's observation at a 
later date. 

Coming back within the walls of the city, my 
ears heard unearthly grumblings, as if they 
were the grunts of an alligator intensified by 
a megaphone, *'Manchu bride is going to her 
husband's house," said the chauffeur, so I told 
him to stop his car and I alighted at the side of 
the road, if possible to catch a glimpse of the 
lady and the strange orchestra that was accom- 



In Forbidden Palaces 315 

panying her. I was not rewarded by getting 
even a peep at the bride, however, because al- 
though it was very warm, she was seated in a 
small square box brilliantly decorated and so 
draped and festooned that it was impossible 
to realize how she obtained air enough to 
breathe. The box was in the middle of long 
bamboo poles, upon the shoulders of eight cool- 
ies, and as it bounded up and down, the men 
failing to keep step and apparently not being 
trained chair bearers, there was no doubt that 
the chair was occupied by a young lady who 
was taller, heavier and more plump than her 
Chinese sisters. Ahead of the chair and be- 
hind it, walked coolies who carried great horns 
fully five or six feet long. Behind each horn 
walked a virtuoso, who puffed his breath into 
the megaphone unceasingly, with the results 
noted. 

** Probably she marry a very rich man," com- 
mented the chauffeur. 

''No doubt, but why do you think so?" 

*' Because, instead of one horn, as you see, 
she have seven. Probably her husband have 
much money and want her very much. Maybe 
she is beautiful lady, but oh, it is very sorry we 
cannot see!" 

Again the mystery of the Orient ! Most beau- 



316 The Spell of China 

tiful ladies are hidden away in curtained boxes. 
Beautiful palaces are behind high walls. The 
best treasures of the temples are locked in altar 
chests. The most remarkable books are too 
precious to be brought into the daylight. 

''Perhaps she is so ugly that her husband 
did not want any one to see what sort of a wife 
lie had bought," I remarked, feeling a momen- 
tary pique at being denied a glimpse at some- 
thing else that was ''forbidden." 

This amused the chauffeur and he assured 
me that I was mistaken. ' ' No Chinaman would 
have seven horns if wife with ugly face was 
coming to his house. No, she must be very 
beautiful and he must be very rich. ' ' 

We had halted beside a fine pai-lou that 
stretched across the roadway from curb to curb. 
It was built of marble and bore a long inscrip- 
tion, which I asked the chauffeur to interpret 
for me. It is popularly known as the Kettler 
Pai-lou and was put up by the Chinese govern- 
ment by way of expiation for the murder of 
the German Minister, Baron Kettler, by the 
Boxers in 1900, and thus of greater interest to 
a Westerner than the other pai-lous which dot 
the China landscape and often enough extol the 
virtues of a distinguished citizen thus remem- 
bered by his neighbors. The inscription reads : 



In Forbidden Palaces 317 

"The German Minister, Baron Kettler, since his arrival in 
China, faithfully discharged his diplomatic duties and won 
our confidence. After the outbreak of the Boxer troubles 
in the fifth month of the twenty-sixth year of Kuang-hsu, the 
said minister was killed on the twenty-fourth day of |;hat 
month at this very spot, to our great grief. This monu- 
ment is erected in order to proclaim his good name and to 
point out what is good as good and what is evil as evil. 
Let all our subjects learn lessons from the past occurrence 
and never forget them. We order this." 

My excursion the following day to the ** Pur- 
ple Forbidden Palace," was much less satis- 
factory and less gratifying. Just as a theat- 
rical celebrity may be over-exploited, just as 
a singer may be advertised until the perform- 
ance is certain to be disappointing, so the an- 
ticipation of gaining entrance to the Forbidden 
City was so great that the actual experience 
could not possibly come up to expectations. 
The very name ''Forbidden City" was enough 
to arouse curiosity, and any reference to it in 
literature of any kind has made it a place of 
mystery. It seemed to be more the abiding 
place of the Son of Heaven than any of the other 
palaces. Fabulous stories have circulated 
around the world in regard to it. Here were 
buildings the inside walls of which were a suc- 
cession of cabinets or shelves, in and upon which 
reposed the most remarkable collection of art 



318 The SpeU of China 

objects in the world, bronze, jade, ivory, gold, 
silver, and precious stones. It was a treasure 
heap, according to persons who claimed to have 
derived their information from persons who 
had seen what they described, or who had talked 
with others whose information had been gained 
from a ''trustworthy source." Some accounts 
went so far as to picture the buildings in which 
there were vast accumulations of gold, similar 
to that which was offered for the ransom of the 
Inca of Peru. 

Before I left the hotel I read in C. F. Gordon- 
Cumming^s ''Wanderings in China" — one of 
the best books of travel ever written on the coun- 
try, and by a woman — that "within these sacred 
precincts no foreigners have ever been permit- 
ted to set foot, tho' they may gaze from be- 
yond a wide canal, at the very ornamental arch- 
ways and the double and triple curved roofs of 
many buildings, rising above the masses of cool 
dark foliage." There was further reference to 
the mysterious yellow-tiled roofs, upon which 
all visitors had gazed — but from beyond the 
walls. Probably the first place that nine out 
of ten newly arrived visitors in Peking have 
asked their guides to show them was either the 
forbidding walls around the palace, or the city 
walls, from which they thought they might have 



In Forbidden Palaces 319 

a peep into this garden of mystery that rivals 
the gardens of Persia, Arabia or India, as the 
locale for intrigues, plottings, poisonings and 
assassinations, and which has a glamour similar 
to that of Mecca, which last is said to be inter- 
esting principally because the majority of the 
human race is forbidden to enter the city on 
account of religious fanaticism. 

The trip to the Purple Palace began as a dis- 
mal failure, and my temporary embarrassment 
was not at all that which one who was about to 
tread upon such holy ground had reason to ex- 
pect. I was about to do something that every 
stranger who has visited China, for centuries, 
has wanted to do; I was to achieve what had 
been supposed to be the unattainable, but the 
start was undignified, at least for one who was 
about to enjoy such a privilege. As the palace 
entrance is only a short distance from the hotel 
I summoned a rikisha, instead of a more stately 
vehicle, knowing that I would be obliged to leave 
it at the gate and proceed on foot. The rikisha 
boy started off at a trot and proceeded about 
ten yards, whereupon his conveyance collapsed 
and I was thrown sprawling to the pavement. 
According to my instructions from the Ameri- 
can legation officials, I was to be escorted beyond 
the walls of mystery by a Chinese colonel, who 



320 The Spell of China 

had been assigned for the purpose the preced- 
ing day. Our rendezvous at an appointed hour 
was not far from the palace gate, and as I en- 
deavored to rearrange my clothing, after the ac- 
cident to the ancient rikisha, I had mental vi- 
sions of the worthy officer becoming weary with 
waiting for me. Perhaps, after all, I was not 
to enter the Forbidden City. It seemed that 
even the rikisha and rikisha coolie had con- 
spired against me. But with a hasty brushing 
of hat and clothing with such equipment as the 
boy carried beneath the seat of the rikisha, usu- 
ally used to scrape the mud from the foot-mat, 
I pressed along and reached the colonel on time, 
although it took him some time to recover from 
the shock that his dignity had suffered when 
he received the announcement that the foot pas- 
senger was the bearer of a permit to enter the 
Purple Palace, and not merely a servant or out- 
runner, who had been sent ahead to acquaint 
him with the imminent arrival of some badged, 
medaled and uniformed diplomat. 

But misery does not shrink from company and 
while the colonel was rather cocky and superior 
during the first minutes of our acquaintance- 
ship, he soon suffered humiliation that was 
greater than my own when I was attempting to 
rise from the pavement. Such a poor begin- 



In Forbidden Palaces 321 

ning to the morning's adventures established 
an ahnost equal footing for us and we became 
good friends as the hours passed and the ''mys- 
teries" were revealed to me. As we ap- 
proached the first great gate in the wall, the 
guards asked to examine my permit. It said 
that I would be accompanied by the colonel, 
whose military duty on this particular day, it 
seemed, was to see to it that I carried away 
from the palace nothing more than its cele- 
brated ''secrets." So the colonel had dressed 
in civilian costume. There was nothing about 
him to prove that he was a colonel. A lively de- 
bate ensued between him and the guards. Was 
a colonel of the President's army to be treated 
in this manner by a common soldier? On the 
other hand, was the soldier to follow his in- 
structions or not? The guard said something, 
which it appears from" the apologies which fol- 
lowed was something like: "When you have 
your uniform on, I know that you are a colonel, 
but, when you do not wear it, how am I to know 
that you are the person referred to in this per- 
mit as the gentleman's escort. You cannot pass 
and he cannot pass, because he must be escorted 
by you." 

It was a bitter little pill for the colonel to 
swallow, but he mastered his temper and told 



322 The Spell of China 

me that he would make a quick trip, if I would 
be good enough to wait for him at the gateway, 
and he came back uniformed as his subordinates 
demanded. It all seemed to be rather farcical ; 
but it was another outcropping of the old China, 
which is so firmly and deeply rooted that it is 
difficult to remove its customs and prejudices in 
three or four years, or, perhaps, i^i a generation. 
The truth of the whole situation was that the 
guards at the palace gate did not care to permit 
a white man to pass. They had been obliged 
to see a French official enter the Forbidden City 
the same morning; but he was *' official," re- 
splendent and glittering in appearance and cos- 
tume. It was different with the American. 
Perhaps they could not prevent his entering, but 
they could delay the hour, or if not the hour the 
minutes; and this is why they were unable to 
' ' recognize ' ' the colonel until he had put on the 
trappings that proved his rank. 

In less than an hour, however, we entered the 
great gate, and my feet were not only touching 
the sacred soil, but they carried me over miles 
of it, because instead of being a ''palace," in 
the usual acceptance of the word, the Imperial 
Purple Palace is a city, and seems at a glance to 
be of greater dimensions than the Summer Pal- 
ace, which stretches around the shores of a ten- 



In Forbidden Palaces 323 

mile lake. But the Summer Palace is in the 
country; the Winter Palace is in the heart of 
the capital city, occupying a position similar 
to Hyde Park in London or Central Park in New 
York. In the Forbidden City is a large lake, 
canals and lengthy roadways, but bordering all 
of them are dozens, perhaps hundreds of build- 
ings, the merest enumeration of which, with a 
brief description, would fill pages with a rather 
tedious architectural record. There are many 
halls of vast proportions, just as an example of 
which may be mentioned : the Tai-ho-tien, where 
the Son of Heaven held court on New Year's 
Day ; the Kun-ning-lcung, which was the residen- 
tial district of the late Dowager Empress; the 
Tang-hsin-tien, which was used as a residence 
by the late Manchu emperor and his number 
one wife; the Chung -ho -tien, used by the court 
for various religious services; the Pac-ho-tien, 
where the emperor held a banquet on New Year 's 
Eve, in honor of the ambassadors of the tribu- 
tary states ; the Chien-ching-kung, where the em- 
peror gave audiences to high officials of state; 
the Chiao-tai-tien, where the imperial seals were 
kept; and all of these are surrounded by resi- 
dences of the court functionaries and govern- 
ment officials of various sorts and conditions 
and rank. Thus the Purple Palace is a crowded 



324 The Spell of China 

city in parts, and like beautiful villages else- 
where. In places, the banks of the canals are 
as thickly crowded with buildings, with connect- 
ing bridges, as a Venetian water route a short 
distance inland from the Grand Canal. There 
are so many huge buildings that when there is 
a desire for a change of location the change is 
made and there is ample room — all within the 
forbidden inclosure. Buildings that were used 
by one emperor as his residence were not desired 
by the next ruler, so he dwelt in another section 
of the city. It is all so vast and so unexpectedly 
crowded that a visitor of one day is bewildered 
by so much splendor and reaches the exit with 
the impression of having started at the Battery 
in New York and having walked to Central Park 
with a determination to ''see" everything en 
route in two or three hours. 

There is a sameness to most of the structures, 
as they have the curved yellow tile roofs, ornate 
carvings and panels that are visible in less se- 
cluded precincts of Peking and China. This 
sameness, however, makes it exceedingly diffi- 
cult for one to recall any particular structure, 
unless it be identified with a personage. It is 
much as if all the national buildings at Wash- 
ington were grouped within one walled inclo- 
sure, with residences for senators, congressmen, 



In Forbidden Palaces 325 

their secretaries and the vast army of govern- 
ment clerks, the President, his cabinet and all 
other functionaries of state. 

The residence of the late Yuan Shih-k'ai will 
remain in memory, because I asked to see where 
this man, who proclaimed himself emperor, had 
elected to dwell, with all the imperial palaces 
at his disposal. The doors of his residence were 
sealed, after his body started in the funeral 
procession for Honan, his boyhood home. Big- 
sheets of paper were pasted across the knobs, 
so that none might enter, but after considerable 
palaver between the colonel and the guards one 
of these was broken, and I was permitted to 
enter what might have been the comfortable 
city residence of an American merchant. The 
house was furnished in Western style. The 
chairs and sofas were covered with linen, in 
the French style, as if the occupant of the house 
had gone away on his summer holiday. There 
were several pieces of bronze, marble and pot- 
tery in the various rooms that indicated wealth 
and the good taste of the collector, but nothing 
more. 

General Li, the president following Yuan, 
never cared to occupy this house, and therefore, 
caused another to become the executive man- 
sion. The little emperor lives with his Manchu 



826 The SpeU of China 

relatives in another corner of the Forbidden 
City, where they are waited upon by many of 
the late Empress Dowager's eunuchs, who 
doubtless fare much better than those servants 
who have been left behind at the Summer Pal- 
ace. At the close of the morning's rambles the 
colonel assured me that we had not been ''within 
miles" of where this little Son of Heaven is 
held a prisoner. 

Excepting for a feast to the eyes, on account 
of a few beautiful souvenirs of the bygone, like 
the magnificent ''Dragon Wall," and the knowl- 
edge that it had been until the present an al- 
most impossible experience for the foreigner, 
the Purple Palace was not as interesting as the 
imperial dwelling in the suburbs. It was too 
much like the crowded city streets of the com- 
moner's Peking, and I understood, as it was im- 
possible to understand before, why the Dowager 
Hsi-Tai-Hou liked to leave the place for the com- 
parative quiet of her suburban retreat. 

Probably by the time these words are in 
print, the Purple Palace and its "mysteries," 
will be a part of the itinerary of each visitor 
to Peking who makes application for permis- 
sion to enter it and is vouched for by his na- 
tion's representatives in the Chinese capital. 
The new executive is in favor of a most liberal 



In Forbidden Palaces 327 

policy in these matters, as in all others. He 
has none of the terrors and fears of his late 
predecessor; and does not fancy that each for- 
eigner armed with a camera is a prospective 
bomb-thrower and assassin. President Li 
would make his capital the great metropolis of 
the East, and a part of his wide-reaching policy 
is to attempt to dispel the ''mystery" and es- 
tablish a closer relationship between the East 
and the West, which he believes would follow 
a better understanding of one and the other. 



CHAPTEE XII 



ON BOYAL BYPATHS 



PAET of the trip to the Great Wall of 
China and the Ming Tombs, which may 
be accomplished in two or three days 
from Peking, is as easy as the trip from New 
York to Atlantic City. Most of the books of 
travel relate weird and uncomfortable experi- 
ences in this section of the country, naturally 
and justly beloved by all travelers ; but they were 
written in the days before the Peking-Kalgan 
railway, when it was still necessary to follow 
the rocky, winding road in the vaUey that leads 
to the Nankou Pass, that marks the great high- 
way between China and the countries to the 
north. Sedan chairs, donkeys, carts or camels 
were the means of conveyance in the older day, 
and there were delays, camps by the roadside, 
possible encounter with unfriendly neighbors, 
and travelers usually seem to have arrived at 
their destination fatigued and quite unable to 
enjoy a full measure of the joys of the excur- 
sion. 



On Royal Bypaths 329 

It is different now. The train I took was 
equipped with first, second, third and fourth 
class accommodations. The fourth was the 
most popular because it was the cheapest. It 
permitted passengers to climb into open cars 
and squat on the floor, surrounded by their 
goods and chattels. The cars looked almost ex- 
actly like ore or coal gondolas on American 
railroads, but a hole was cut through one side 
which served as an entrance. The third class 
consisted of wooden benches on which passen- 
gers squatted usually with the windows closed 
tight so that not one breath of air might enter. 
The second class is only a little less comfortable 
than the first, but it is considerably cheaper, so 
the seats are usually crowded. First-class pas- 
sengers pay an excess fare for the privilege of 
keeping the windows open and for the assur- 
ance that there will be plenty of room, even if 
they do not come to train two hours before 
starting time, which is the custom of the 
others. 

At Nankou, I went to a Chinese inn, which 
had been "Europeanized" — at least so the man- 
ager assured me. He said that a Chinese inn 
was good enough in the old days, but now that 
so many ''foreigners" are coming to the Ming 
Tombs and the Great Wall— he had entertained 



330 The Spell of China 

three that week — ^he decided to put in modern 
beds that ''stood on legs," and his table was 
filled with all the canned stuffs that England 
and America afford, because he knew that ' ' for- 
eigners demand them." 

The trip to the Ming Tombs and back is about 
twenty-six miles from the inn, and no China- 
man or foreigner has built a railroad. It is 
necessary to travel in a sedan chair on the 
shoulders of coolies; but here are coolies who 
should have a memorial erected to them. I am 
certain that they are more worthy of it than 
some of the emperors who are incased in im- 
perial yellow porcelain in the royal mausoleum. 
The average Chinese coolie is a willing person. 
He merely wants his meager pay and then he 
will tug a heavy load an incredible distance. 
But I have come across plenty of them who 
would emit a grunt after they had toted my two 
hundred pounds a distance of five miles. Not 
the coolies of Nankou. The four of them lifted 
me to their shoulders as if I had been a feather- 
weight. They started off down a ravine from 
the hotel at a lively clip. ''Wait five minutes," 
I whispered to myself, "and you will hear the 
signal of distress." But I did not hear it. 
They kept up the jogging gait for twenty-six 
miles in one day, and when we returned in the 



On Royal Bypaths 331 

evening there was a rainstorm threatening, so 
they increased their gait to a trot and finished 
the last two miles at what amounted almost 
to a run. And the four of them demanded the 
sum of two dollars for their joint labors that 
day. 

Just why the emperors of the Ming dynasty 
elected to be buried in this out of the way 
valley, shut in by hills on three sides, is some- 
thing of a mystery. Perhaps they wanted to 
make it as inconvenient as possible for their 
surviving relatives and subjects to worship at 
their tombs. It is known that Emperor Yung-lo 
built his tomb in 1409, about fifteen years before 
his death. What it cost in money and labor it 
is not possible to calculate, but the toll of human 
life and dollars must have been almost incredi- 
ble. His example was followed by the other 
Ming emperors, but they did not do such a colos- 
sal job. There are thirteen tombs altogether, 
but the distances are so vast that the casual 
tourist is likely to be satisfied with a glimpse 
of the others, while paying a visit to Yung-lo 
in his posthumous palace. 

After we had cantered through several small 
villages, past great fields of vegetables and 
grain in which the Chinese peasants were work- 
ing, we arrived at a magnificent carved stone 



332 The Spell of China 

gateway of five arches. Pilgrims were resting 
in the shade of its colossal framework, with 
their blankets spread out on the fine pavement 
of white marble slabs that extended in various 
directions over a high knoll. 

''The tombs are exactly six miles from here," 
said the guide. That seemed a long distance, 
even taking him at his word, but it was the 
longest six miles I ever covered, yet it was one 
of the most interesting avenues through which 
I ever passed. The road, about four yards 
wide, splendidly graded, was paved with huge 
slabs of stone and marble the entire distance. 
In many places the roadway has crumbled, but 
in others, it is in as fine condition as the boule- 
vard of any city. About two-thirds of a mile 
from the marble gate there is another gigan- 
tic gateway roofed with the imperial yellow 
tiles. Here is a notice to all officials to dis- 
mount from their horses or chairs to make the 
closer pilgrimage on foot. Then gigantic stone 
monuments of various kinds, met with only in 
China. One contains an essay by the fourth 
Ming emperor. There are clusters of great 
marble pylons and then finally the animals, ele- 
phants, camels, horses, goats and other crea- 
tures that seem to be a cross between dragons 
and zebras — all colossal stone images set up 




STONE ANIMALS AT MING TOMBS 



On Royal Bypaths . 333 

against the great paved roadway. Then stone 
effigies of officials, military and civil. 

And barely a human habitation in sight, these 
being only the straw-thatched cottages of poor 
peasants! They cultivate the soil up to the 
curb of the * ' Great White Way ' ' and to the bases 
of the pedestals on which the stone beasts re- 
pose. The great monuments mean nothing to 
them; neither do the tourists who come this 
way. Theirs is too hard a struggle for exist- 
ence. Many of them must have been aware of 
my passage in the chair, but, although they were 
only a few feet away, they did not look up 
from their toil in the fields. Some of them were 
groaning or grunting native songs to while the 
time away. Some were merely dumb and silent. 
They probably thought ''what a mad creature a 
foreigner must be to come so far to see these 
monuments ! ' ' 

The coolies trotted on and on, and finally de- 
posited me in front of a high stone wall sur- 
rounding an inclosure. This wall was capped 
by yellow tiles in fantastic designs and beneath 
the eaves were friezes of porcelain plaques of 
the same color. 

I passed through the portal into the great 
paved inclosure. On into a tremendous build- 
ing, the oratory, the high roof of which is sup- 



334 The Spell of China 

ported by a forest of teakwood pillars. The 
ceilings are panels of highly decorated designs. 
In the center of the hall is the ''tablet" of the 
emperor. 

Through this oratory I passed on to other 
courtyards and other buildings, all ornately 
carved and decorated, every square inch being 
of priceless artistry. Finally, again into a spa- 
cious courtyard. A yellow tiled building is for 
the burning of prayers. In the center of the 
court is a great white marble carved altar, on 
which all the altar ornaments, censors and vases 
are of gigantic size and of carved white marble. 
Then on again, and to the tomb itself. Yung-lo 
reposes in the hillside with a magnificent tem- 
ple-like structure over him. One approaches 
the tomb on inclined stone ways that lead to the 
top of the hill. Here is another tablet, setting 
forth his virtues. 

And this is but a meager description of the 
magnificence of this tomb — ^which is but one of 
thirteen. And all practically hidden from hu- 
man sight in the hills beyond Nankou. 

It is said that the Ming princes come here 
once a year to worship, and even in the time of 
the Manchu Empress Dowager a royal pageant 
made the trip for similar purposes, for ancestor 
worship is still the leading ''religion" of China 



On Royal Bypaths 335 

and the noblest act one can perform is to do 
homage to one's predecessors. 

Inside the walls of the tombs are a poor half- 
foolish crowd of hangers-on, who offer visitors 
warm drinks. I took one of the men aside. He 
was a strange, pig-tailed peasant, who looked 
as if he had lived in the time of Yung-lo him- 
self. 

* 'I don't want anything to drink," I told him, 
*'but I would like one of the imperial plaques 
on the frieze of Yung-lo 's tomb." 

He threw up his hands in horror at the 
thought, and I respected his reverence for the 
departed emperor. Then, after a half hour, 
when I was preparing to leave, he beckoned me 
to one side. He had been out on a little for- 
aging expedition, while the others begged for 
money. He placed in my hands the coveted 
plaque. I trembled, fearing his demands for 
his sacrilege. 

''How much?" I asked. 

"Ten cents," he replied, naming a Chinese 
coin equal to that amount. 

"Not only ten cents, but ten times ten," I 
said to him, handing him a dollar and pleased 
at my bargain. Later I showed it to a Peking- 
New York antiquarian and asked him what it 
was worth. 



336 The Spell of China 

''To me perhaps ten dollars," he smiled. 
*'To a collector of antique pottery in America 
— ^well, I might charge him a thousand. He'd 
think more of Ming porcelain if I did." 

"Better take one of the wooden benches from 
the veranda," chuckled the Chinese manager 
of the inn at Nankou, when he saw me getting 
ready to go to the railway station to catch the 
train that runs up through the old Nankou Pass 
to Ching-lung-chiao the next morning. Of 
course I did not understand, and this merely 
caused him to chuckle more. 

*' When you go to the station, I'll send a coolie 
with a bench anjrway," he added, "if you want 
it, you can take it; and if not, he can bring it 
back." 

I did want it, really needed it. The China- 
man knew best. He had seen the train that 
runs each morning over the territory that I 
wanted to cover. In many ways it is one of 
the most remarkable trains that run anywhere. 
I looked it over carefully before going aboard. 
In fact, I was obliged to do so, for the purpose 
of picking out a convenient spot for my bench. 
Evidently this train does not live by its passen- 
ger traffic, so no accommodations are made for 
mere human beings. There were flat cars for 
bales of hides and pelts bound for Eussia. 



On Royal Bypaths 337 

There were box-cars (without roofs save for 
straw matting) filled with merchandise. And 
there was a little car at the front of the train, 
which served as a sort of caboose for the train 
crew. But train crews in China do not demand 
many modern comforts., They squat on the 
floor. One of the men was actually lying in 
the corner of the car asleep, with his head on 
a brick, when I entered. A tea-kettle was 
steaming over a charcoal brazier, but otherwise 
there were no ** furnishings." About all the 
line did for passengers was to sell tickets, and 
these were sold with as much dignity as if the 
cashier had been handing out train de luxe 
coupons for a continental journey. But four 
Chinese who ran the train took me into their 
caboose, planted my bench from the hotel porch 
in the front doorway, and I sat down imagining 
that I had a special observation compartment. 
In a few minutes we received a terrific bump, 
which proved that the engine was being coupled 
on, just as does on an excess fare train in 
America. The difference was the engine was 
attached to the rear of the train and pushed, 
instead of pulling it in regulation fashion. 
Trust to the Chinese to do everything in exactly 
the opposite manner from which Europeans do 
it ! And almost before we were aware of it, we 



338 The Spell of China 

were off! I was bound for the great wall of 
China. The thought gave me a thrill. And so 
did the train. It slid along through the valley 
between towering hills and finally stopped at 
the little station of Ching-lung-chiao, which had 
a weird assortment of loiterers, many of whom 
looked as hoary and ancient as I expected to find 
the Great Wall itself. 

From the station platform it was possible 
to see the wall in the distance, meandering over 
the hills and through the valleys, a magnificent 
engineering feat that seems almost incredible 
in these days when we call the Panama Canal 
*'the greatest engineering work of man," and 
look upon the pyramids of Egypt as one of the 
''seven wonders of the world." This great 
work, which would crumble before modern guns, 
but which was a formidable barrier to encroach- 
ments from the north in its day, was begun two 
centuries before the birth of Christ. Yet to- 
day it stands in places as perfect almost as the 
day it was constructed. I have not the exact 
dimensions, but they are easily found in books 
of reference. The impressive fact is that it 
is so high that it could barely be scaled by the 
aid of ladders, it is wide enough at the top for 
two or three carts to pass, it is built of hewn 
^tone and brick, and at frequent intervals there 



On Royal Bypaths 339 

are towers, turrets, secret passageways and 
inclines to the inner base, and in addition to 
being a magnificent fortification across a tre- 
mendous territory, it is a thing of beauty that 
would be difficult for modem engineers to con- 
ceive or execute. I wanted to stand in its tur- 
rets, walk along the inclines of the top and look 
over into Mongolia. I wanted to see those tur- 
rets from which heaps of stones were hurled 
upon ancient enemies, the turrets where fire 
blazed and were flashed to other towers in the 
interior, warning China that the enemy was ap- 
proaching. 

So I engaged the services of an old man at 
the station, who had what I shall always believe 
is the ugliest donkey in the world. Probably 
the poor beast had brought produce to market 
at Ching-lung-chiao that morning and wanted 
his noon-day rest. But for a few cents the old 
fellow told me I could ride the animal — or at- 
tempt to do so — ^while he would walk along and 
act as guide. 

The principal thing about the expedition 
seemed to be that the donkey didn't want to go 
to the Great Wall of China. It preferred to 
go in the other direction. Its owner pounded 
it with a club, which had no effect. It merely 
stood and waved its ears. Then he tried coax- 



340 The Spell of China 

ing and petting. This availed nothing. Fi- 
nally, the man started on ahead, thinking that 
the animal might follow its master. Even this 
had no effect until he had gone some distance, 
when the animal started off at a gait quite un- 
like that usually taken by Chinese donkeys, 
and quite disconcerting to the rider. But the 
scheme worked. The old man clattered off down 
the trail and the donkey and I followed. All 
went well until we came to a precipitous cliff 
over which there was a stone footbridge not 
more than twelve inches wide. Here the donkey 
halted again, as if considering whether or not 
to risk it with such a weight on its back. But 
it finally started out, when its master was about 
to disappear around a hill, and I felt as if I 
were suspended on a tight-rope over the gorge 
at Niagara Falls. But we reached the other 
side in safety, and as if encouraged by the ex- 
perience, the donkey trotted along during the 
rest of the journey and deposited me safely at 
the triple, massive gateway in the wall that per- 
mits caravans to enter China from the north. 
Dismounting, I was suddenly surrounded by 
a strange crowd of beggars. Blind men beat- 
ing on cymbals and tooting little horns, legless 
men hopping around on their fists, men who 
looked strangely like lepers, and a strange riff- 



On Royal Bypaths 341 

raff that evidently lives near the gateway in 
the ruins and survives from what it can beg of 
passing caravans. It was a strange aggrega- 
tion and one of the most beseeching outfits that 
I ever encountered. They do not see a ** white 
man" every day, and as all white men are sup- 
posed to be very rich they wanted to improve 
the opportunity. 

One youngster immediately attached himself 
to me. He was a black little Mongol more am- 
bitious than the others, because he insisted upon 
keeping a couple or three feet in front of me, 
turning somersaults, standing on his head, and 
otherwise '* entertaining" me and showing that 
he was entitled to a present. I gave him a cop- 
per for his performance and hoped to be rid 
of him; but I did not know his kind. This 
merely encouraged him, and his antics became 
more strenuous by the aid of the monetary en- 
couragement. He led the way to the towers of 
the wall. He flip-flopped along the great high- 
way at the top of the wall, and after I had 
tramped around for a time on the great pile, he 
led me to a sort of secret stairway from the 
top to the Chinese base. Doubling himself up 
into a ball, by clasping his hands around his 
neck, he rolled down the great flight of stone 
steps and from the bottom looked up and 



342 The Spell of China 

grinned like an actor taking a curtain call. 

A caravan arrived from the north as I sat 
on the gate. They were taking forty or fifty 
beautiful Mongolian horses into China. They 
looked up and saw me, chattered and each came 
up, staring in open-mouthed wonder as if they 
had never seen a man with white skin. The boy 
told them of my prodigal wealth, because I had 
given him the copper, and each of these stalwart 
men of the North came up and held out his 
palm for money, talking volubly and evidently 
explaining to me how difficult it was to get 
money or food in this part of the country. As 
chance would have it, I had twenty or thirty 
coppers in my pockets, as usual, because I had 
learned their value on similar occasions, so I 
gave each of them one — equal to a half -cent in 
American coin — and they started away as 
pleased as an Englishman can be when he in- 
herits his uncle's fortune and estates. 

After they had gone a little way they held a 
consultation. I wondered what was brewing 
because they came back again and the boldest 
of the crowd talked to me and slapped his hand 
to his head. I did not understand, but the boy 
came up and asked to take the broad-brimmed 
straw hat that I was wearing. They wanted 
to see it and to hold it. They looked at it care- 



On Royal Bypaths 343 



fully, touched it and went away satisfied, wav- 
ing a salute to me after they had gone far 
down the valley. 

It was all an experience that prompted 
thought. Here I was, standing on one of the 
wonder-works of man. The brains that con- 
ceived the Great Wall of China were of a su- 
perior sort that must have represented one of 
the highest civilizations the world has ever 
known. But even the wall was a part of the 
great policy of isolation and conservation that 
in a couple of thousand years has brought the 
proudest nation of the earth to decay and close 
to ruin. While not at all typical of the Chinese 
of Shanghai and Peking, the men I saw were 
fair examples of China, the mass. Poor, half- 
starved men with brains just a little higher 
in the scale than the brains of animals. They 
seemed to have lived too long. There were the 
marks of world-weariness in the faces of the 
young men, while old men appeared to be an- 
cient. They were bom tainted with physical 
and mental decay and only a miracle can save 
them. And as I mused, I was confidently of 
the opinion that the name of that miracle is 
Japan. As I stood on the Great Wall and 
looked over at China, it seemed to me that there 
was nothing in all the world that offered such 



344 The Spell of China 

convincing proof of national disintegration. 
But, I looked off beyond the hills on the other 
side in the direction of Korea. I did not know 
it at the time, but soon was to come upon even 
greater evidences of the same thing. But Japan 
is in Korea, and has been there for some years, 
now being in absolute control of her ancient 
enemy. And out of the debris of a ruined na- 
tion Japan is causing miracles to be performed. 
The Japanese object to being classed as of 
the same race as the Chinese or Koreans, but 
the blatant fact remains that all are yellow men. 
And there is further fact that yellow men re- 
spect and understand yellow men. Japan might 
redeem China. But the question is: ''What 
would happen to the rest of the world if she 
succeeded in doing so and was permitted to 
follow her own designs in the work of redemp- 
tion?" 



The Great Wall 



I 



»• 



tt 




CHAPTER XIII 

AN OBIENTAL BERLIN 

lY first impression of Tientsin was not fa- 
vorable ; but I was doing something that 
no traveler should ever permit himself 
to do, enter unknown territory and bring pre- 
viously formed opinions and prejudices with 
him. My opinion of the city, as I quickly real- 
ized, had not been formed from the city itself, 
but from the environs. There had been severe 
rains, so that the land along the railway tracks 
had been flooded and as large areas seemed 
to be devoted to burying grounds the ground 
had been washed away, so that dozens of coffins 
were visible, some of them standing on end, 
and some upside down. I thought that I could 
not care much about a city, the people of which 
were so thoughtless of their dead. But, almost 
immediately, I forgot about the unpleasant 
sights and quickly realized that Tientsin is one 
of the most delightful cities in all China, cor- 
responding to Shanghai and Hankow in com- 
mercial importance as a treaty port, and having 

345 



346 The Spell of China 

a distinct fascination of its own, thoroughly 
oriental, but unlike any of the other cities. 
Tientsin is situated eighty-six miles from Pe- 
king by railroad and is the natural gateway from 
the ocean to the capital city. It was a walled 
city until 1900, when the Boxer uprising 
brought the armies of Japan, Great Britain, 
Russia, the United States, Germany and other 
countries to its gates, and the walls fell, giv- 
ing place to an excellent tram line, which now 
runs along a fine road covering much the same 
territory. 

Tientsin is credited with a population of close 
to one million, and there is a floating population 
estimated at fully thirty thousand, which dwells 
in the city at certain seasons of the year and 
then goes to the country for other seasons. The 
streets are wide and in the territory occupied 
by foreigners there are many fine residences 
and places of business that are well-shaded by 
mammoth trees of semi-tropical appearance, 
while there are parks and gardens that the 
traveler does not expect to find in the cities of 
China. About six thousand junks consider the 
city their ''home" port and lie along the ex- 
tensive waterways like the logs of a corduroy 
road. The harbor seems to be filled with ships 
from all foreign countries, the daily schedules 



An Oriental Berlin 347 

of sailing sometimes filling the large bulletin 
boards in the hotels. One may not only select 
the line on which he cares to travel by water, 
but by waiting a few days it is usually possible 
to select the exact route preferred to all others, 
with reference to ports of call as well as des- 
tination. So many lines send their steamers 
here that while some of them do not accommo- 
date more than eight or ten first-class passen- 
gers, on account of the ship being given over 
to freight, that Tientsin seems to be in direct 
communication with practically all the prin- 
cipal ports of the world. 

The native streets are as ''characteristic" 
of China as any elsewhere, but in a few min- 
utes it is possible to pass beyond any of them 
and find a settlement of Europeans or Ameri- 
cans where there is little to suggest the exotic 
locale. Carriage and automobiles are common, 
there is a social life which foreign residents be- 
lieve is second to none in China, and there are 
good hotels. The city is not beautiful in nat- 
ural scenery and it has few of the sights that 
are catalogued for tourists ; but it is a pleasant 
interlude in the tour from what has passed and 
what is to come, and many Westerners stay for 
an extended period and find the city enjoyable. 

Perhaps no Chinaman has been so well known 



348 The Spell of China 

by name to Americans as the late Li Hung- 
chang, who paid us a sensational visit that 
attracted much newspaper comment, because he 
left his native country almost a discredited poli- 
tician and from his popularity in America re- 
vived the interest of the Chinese masses, who 
felt that one of their countrymen who could at- 
tract so much attention in America must be a 
greater man than the Manchu court nobles ad- 
mitted him to be. The famous Li spent some 
of his most active years at Tientsin and there 
is a fine temple with a beautiful lotus pond 
dedicated to his memory. Succeeding in becom- 
ing very popular as the result of helping to put 
down the Taiping rebellion, he was rewarded 
by being appointed viceroy of Chih-li province, 
and his yamen at Tientsin, a residence that was 
barely in keeping with the dignity of his office, 
became second in importance only to the palace 
at Peking. But Li was Chinese and the Man- 
chus hated him, although he had been of great 
service to them and was known to exercise great 
influence with the people who trusted him. He 
was accused of being too "modern" and became 
the victim of court intrigues and plots that 
sought to discredit him. Back in 1887, Tientsin 
was almost a *'boom" town, in the Western ac- 
ceptance of the word, because it was a hive in 



An Oriental Berlin 349 

which the concession-hunters of all nations were 
buzzing around the officials seeking for privi- 
leges. The city was very gay in those days, be- 
cause it was not only the rendezvous of men 
vrho were seeking favors for important foreign 
interests in China, but likewise for high officials 
who assembled for the purpose of permitting 
themselves to be ''entertained." 

Li accomplished many things in the line of 
progress that would have been impossible to 
one of less influence with the natives. For ex- 
ample, when the Lady Li was ill he ordered that 
she be attended by a doctor from the West. The 
progress of her illness was watched with grave 
apprehension by the masses, who believed that 
help could come only from Chinese physicians. 
When she recovered, she founded a hospital 
and placed her Western physician in charge and 
her husband graciously ordered that a temple 
building should be devoted to the great humani- 
tarian purpose, which gave an impetus to the 
''modern" tendencies that were beginning to 
invade China, and which have accomplished 
marvels since the death of the "Grand Old Man 
of China," who remained a Chinaman, but was 
enough of a prophet to realize what his coun- 
try needed. 

The natural position of Tientsin at the head 



350 The Spell of China 

of the Grand Canal, a railway connection be- 
tween Europe, via Siberia, and the great re- 
public and its port, visited by the steamers of 
the world, continues to make it an important 
city which will not diminish in importance with 
the passing of the years. Perhaps it is best 
known to the West as an important salt depot 
and for its beautiful rugs, which are famous 
around the world. The rugs are made from the 
great shag of camel's wool, and within memory, 
they could be purchased for eighteen cents the 
square foot ; but in recent years the prices have 
gone soaring, and as the prices rose it is the 
opinion of collectors that the quality has fallen 
accordingly. An excursion for the purchase of 
a Tientsin rug, however, is counted as one of 
the interesting experiences of a visit to the city, 
and many times the inexperienced purchaser 
comes into possession of a souvenir that may be 
greatly in excess of former values, but greatly 
prized when home is reached. 

We had expected to take the express train 
that leaves Tientsin twice or three times a week 
for Mukden, making connections with the Trans- 
Siberian at the Manchurian capital, often called 
''Little Peking," whence we expected to stop 
for a day and then proceed into the ''Land of 
the Morning Calm," China's little sister, which 



An Oriental Berlin 351 

has now entirely passed into the hands of the 
Japanese; but a chance hotel meeting with a 
German and his wife, long resident in China, 
changed our itinerary and delayed our Korean 
visit for several days. The Germans were 
much concerned over the war in Europe, but 
what seemed to concern them even more was 
the fact that Tsingtau, the German colony in 
China, was no longer ruled by Berlin, and had 
passed completely within the jurisdiction of 
Tokyo, something which they felt certain could 
never have happened excepting for the fact that 
the eyes of the world were upon what the nations 
considered more important events in Europe. 

''Tsingtau was a paradise on earth," said the 
natives of Berlin. ''I have seen many parts of 
the earth in my time," volunteered the hus- 
band, ''but my choice of all was Tsingtau. It 
is not the same to-day as it was before the 
Japanese came; but even to-day it would be 
unfair to yourselves if you should leave China 
without seeing it. Go there, if but for two 
days, and I promise you that you will never re- 
gret it. ' ' 

And much that this enthusiastic couple said 
was true and should be passed on to others with 
similar advice. See Tsingtau and you will 
never regret it. Perhaps it is not "paradise 



352 The Spell of China 

on earth," but it is a delightful spot on the 
earth's surface, and instead of becoming of 
lesser importance as time passes it is likely to 
assume great importance in world events of 
the future. Japanese statesmen declared at 
the time it was taken from the Germans that it 
would be restored to China at the conclusion 
of hostilities in Europe ; but there is no reason 
to believe that this will be the case. Chinese 
statesmen believe that it is only another grip 
on the throat of the republic by the Nipponese 
government and discount the promises of Jap- 
anese officials by calling attention to the fact 
that when Tsingtau was taken the Japanese mil- 
itary violated the neutrality of China as the 
Germans did in Belgium. ''One attracted the 
attention of the world, ' ' they say, "but the world 
was too much occupied to pay any attention 
to China's voice. It was futile for us to cry 
out and it is futile for us to expect Japan to 
keep her promises." 

As a result of this chance meeting, we con- 
sulted the train schedules and within a few 
hours not only found ourselves on the railroad 
leading in the direction of Tsingtau, but actu- 
ally arrived at the gates of Chin-an-fu, such an 
interesting old town that we made it the stop- 
ping-place for still another day that we had not 



An Oriental Berlin 353 

originally included in our itinerary. It is not 
only a walled city, but has outer and inner walls 
and is supposed to shelter a population of three 
hundred thousand. It lies a little over two 
hundred miles south of Tientsin and has a 
hoary record as a city, having been a provincial 
capital for centuries before the Christian era 
began. Situated near the Huang-Ho Eiver and 
Lake Taming-hu, which latter is as popular with 
loiterers and holiday-makers as West Lake at 
Hangchow, the city is not much frequented by 
foreigners, but taking its inspiration from the 
railway, it provides a good example of what 
is possible for a Chinese city to accomplish upon 
its own initiative when it once feels the desire 
to make advancement toward Western ideals. 
It was open to foreign trade in 1906, and al- 
though a popular means of locomotion is the 
wheel-barrow, there are many good roads in the 
vicinity; although certain districts are still 
musty with centuries-old filth, the city is lighted 
with electricity provided by the Chin-au Electric 
Light Company which has a paid up capital of 
$200,000. There is a good hotel in the Euro- 
pean style and enough of interest to hold the 
tourist for several days. One of several inter- 
esting side-trips is to the Temple of a Thousand 
Buddhas, which lies on the slope of the Li-Shan 



354 The Spell of China 

mountains south of the city, usually visited by 
sedan chair. Here, against a natural stone 
wall, are one thousand Buddhas said to have 
been carved twelve hundred years ago. An- 
other sight is the Dragon Spring Cave, whence 
there is a beautiful panoramic view of the city 
and its environs. 

But we did not go to the mountains, and the 
morning following our arrival we boarded a 
train on the Shantung railway, work for the 
building of which was started in the presence 
of Prince Henry of Prussia, whose name and 
fame is much the same in this region as the 
Prince of Wales in Canada, following his sim- 
ilar visit before he ascended the throne of Great 
Britain. 

Probably there are few examples of such al- 
most miraculous speed in city construction in 
all history as Tsingtau. The shores of Kao- 
chou Bay passed to Germany in 1898, in the form 
of a ninety-nine year lease, and almost immedi- 
ately there sprang up on the hitherto lonesome 
bay, a city that usually prompts the remark of 
''Little Berlin" from the visitor who has also 
visited the German capital. Few colonial pos- 
sessions have had such a liberal home govern- 
ment, it being estimated that fully $60,000,000 
of German money has gone towards the making 



An Oriental Berlin 355 

of the important port. Too far away from our 
continent to have attracted more than casual 
notice, it is one of the most brilliant results of 
German '* efficiency." Here, before the war in 
Europe, were about three thousand Germans, 
with schools that were beginning to attract at- 
tention throughout the Far East, magnificent 
granite piers that stretched far out into the har- 
bor that had been dredged to accommodate any 
ship that floats, hospitals, churches, various 
laboratories, beautiful avenues and boulevards, 
remarkable hygienic safeguards to health, and 
finally, the sum of one hundred thousand marks 
had been appropriated for the purpose of plant- 
ing trees on the barren hillsides. The Germans, 
realizing the attractiveness of this city, were 
making it one of the great summer resorts of 
the Chinese coast. There is not only one of 
the best bathing beaches of the whole coast-line 
here, but the surroundings and hotel accom- 
modations were so much superior to anything 
in the region that Tsingtau was coming to be a 
popular summer resort and its praises were 
being sung to the world by all who paid it one 
visit. 

But great events had transpired before we 
arrived. The Germans who remained in the col- 
ony were women, children and old men. The 



356 The Spell of China 

others were in Japan as ''prisoners of war," 
and although plenty of signs bore German let- 
tering and words, it was plain in the drive from 
the station to the hotel that Tsing-tan is oc- 
cupied by aliens, and nobody with whom I 
talked gave me the least hint that the Japanese 
expect to withdraw at the conclusion of hos- 
tilities in Europe, or at any other time. A 
Japanese flag flies over what was the splendid 
Prinz Heinrich hotel and part of it has become 
the quarters of the Japanese officers in com- 
mand of the port. 

But at the time of our visit the principal 
points of interest were the destroyed fortifi- 
cations, which with field guns and every possi- 
ble "trophy of war" the German residents of 
Tsingtau blew up with nitroglycerine and dyna- 
mite before surrendering their "paradise" to 
the enemy, whom Germany theretofore consid- 
ered a friend. Count von Eex, the German am- 
bassador at Tokyo, is said to have been as sur- 
prised as any one else when he received an of- 
ficial communication from the Emperor of 
Japan which said: "It is with profound regret 
that we, in spite of our ardent devotion to peace, 
are compelled to declare war, especially at this 
early period of our reign and while we are still 
in mourning for our Lamented Mother." 



An Oriental Berlin 357 

But the mourning for the Emperor's mother 
did not dampen the military spirits of Tokyo 
statesmen, who loudly and unblushingly pro- 
claimed to the people that it was the oppor- 
tunity of a nation's life-time to strike the blow 
that would further the ambitions of the em- 
pire. 

** Japan, by attacking Tsingtau," said Chen 
Kuo Hsiang, a member of the Chinese Council 
of State, as reported by Jefferson Jones in his 
excellent account of the fall of Tsingtau, *'is 
following out a continental policy cherished for 
at least twenty years. Its purpose is to seize 
Tsinanfu and northern sections of the Tientsin- 
Pukow railways." 

Although the railways were beyond the terri- 
tory of the German lease, Japan served notice 
upon China to clear the region of all military, 
and it required positive action at Peking to 
maintain order among the native troops who 
were incensed by this invasion of Chinese ter- 
ritory. Almost immediately, the Japanese sol- 
diers began to pour into the territory. One 
large company marched on Tsimo, which was 
garrisoned by ten Germans, who defended them- 
selves as long as possible in a mock battle which 
gave a Chinese city of thirty thousand inhabit- 
ants to the Japanese. A Nipponese aeroplane 



358 The SpeU of China 

flew over Tsingtau and dropped bombs on the 
city. From the beginning it was a lost cause 
and the Germans knew it. As nearly as can be 
ascertained at the present time, irrespective of 
the naval operations, the invading force con- 
sisted of twenty thousand Japanese, nine hun- 
dred British regulars and three hundred Sikhs, 
while the Germans numbered something over 
four thousand, seven hundred of whom were 
sick or wounded and many of whom were mere 
boys. The Germans fought bravely, but the 
white flag went up, and Germany in Asia had 
ceased to exist. But, as before noted, there was 
nothing left in the beautiful little city that could 
be called a ' ' trophy of war. ' ^ Even the postage 
stamps, bearing the colony seal, were destroyed 
before the surrender. So also were all mili- 
tary papers and maps. Canned food from Ger- 
many was opened in store-houses and destroyed. 
In many ways, it was a small victory for Japan ; 
but it was a tremendous victory, as her states- 
men declared when they were defending the 
action before the masses of their countrymen, 
because they had improved the opportunity to 
gain a foothold on Chinese soil. They had 
avenged the " insult " of Berlin, which had de- 
manded that they give up part of the spoils of 
the victory in the war with Eussia. They had 



An Oriental Berlin 359 

done their part in crushing a great military and 
commercial power of Europe. 

We left Tsingtau and retraced our wander- 
ings to Tientsin, where we made connections 
with the train bound for Mukden. Several in- 
teresting places were passed en route; Tang- 
shan, which is important on account of the rich 
coal fields in the neighborhood, which yield 
about nine thousand tons of coal a day, from 
which Japan is said to take six hundred thou- 
sand tons annually, Pei-tai-ho (usually pro- 
nounced Peterho) which is one of the popular 
summer resorts of China for Europeans, many 
of whom own villas ; and Shan-hai-kuan, which 
is located about midway between the Manchur- 
ian and the Chinese capitals, notable princi- 
pally because it is the eastern extremity of the 
Great Wall of China, which dips down to the 
sea. The last named place was famous in an 
earlier day, on account of its great barrier gate 
and castle, which was constructed in the Seven- 
teenth Century and became the stopping place 
for the Manchu emperors, whose capital was in 
Peking but who made pilgrimages to Mukden 
to worship at the tombs of their ancestors. 
Shan-hai-kuan was occupied by foreign troops 
at the time of the Boxer disturbances in 1900 
and again in 1911, on account of the revolu- 



360 The SpeU of China 

tion. Many of the foreign troops remain and 
are quartered in the forts which are connected 
with the railway station by a tram. A sight of 
the great wall at Nankou is preferable, but 
the visitor who fails to make the side trip from 
Peking, should stop over here for a day, al- 
though few travelers will care to stop for a 
longer period. 

Manchuria was so named from the Tartar 
tribes originally dwelling in the country, best 
known to the West for their conquest of China 
and the fact that a Manchu occupied the throne 
at Peking from 1644 until the beginning of the 
republic in 1912. The country is almost as 
large as France and Germany combined, has a 
rich soil and is supposed to have about twenty 
million inhabitants scattered over about two 
hundred and eighty thousand square miles. 
Perhaps the most famous Manchu was Noor- 
chachu, who was born in 1559 at a time when the 
country was a wild place and most of the peo- 
ple were living in tents or caves, without fixed 
towns or cities of consequence. At the time 
of his birth he inherited the prospects of be- 
coming chieftain over six hamlets ; but by 1616 
he had conquered all the neighboring tribes and 
founded a kingdom. Noorchachu, like the 
prince of Denmark, had a great aim in life, but 



An Oriental Berlin 361 

in addition to avenging the murder of his 
father, also the murder of his grandfather 
by the Chinese, he spent his entire life in 
the pursuit of the revenge which gave the 
throne of the mightiest empire in the world 
to his successors. It is written in Manchurian 
history that he wrote ''Seven Hates" upon a 
tablet and addressed them to the emperor of 
China. Instead of sending the tablet to the 
emperor, however, he went before the tombs of 
his ancestors and addressed his vow to heaven, 
performing sacrificial rites and permitting altar 
flames to consume his ''Hates" and bear them 
upward on the waves of incense. He retired to 
Mukden and made it his capital, and is said to 
have died in 1626, but he had so inspired his peo- 
ple with the fighting spirit and desire for con- 
quest that his grandson ascended the throne of 
China in 1644 and Noorchachu's spirit doubtless 
found peace, because his vow to heaven had 
been fulfilled. 

The city of Mukden is credited with a popula- 
tion of nearly two hundred thousand at the pres- 
ent time. It is an important vortex for the 
caravans from all directions and a railway con- 
nection between China, Europe and Japan for 
passengers and the rich stock of furs and beans, 
which, with silk, form the principal products of 



362 The Spell of China 

Manchuria. Its street crowds are a strange 
and varied collection, representing many nation- 
alities. The full-blood Manchus seem to be in 
the minority, while perhaps sixty per cent, of 
the pedestrians encountered are Chinese, Eus- 
sians and Japanese. A rather forlorn sug- 
gestion of the Eussian ambitions in Manchuria 
lingers about Mukden, as in several of the other 
towns and cities; but about the capital was 
fought the culminating battle in the Eusso- Japa- 
nese war and the Japanese, who became su- 
preme at that time, seem to retain that suprem- 
acy everywhere, although in not the acknowl- 
edged manner of the rule in Korea, which is 
now as much a part of the Japanese empire as 
Tokyo itself. Mukden has the glamour of the 
Orient, but as compared to the cities further 
south it is gray, cold and uninviting to the 
stranger. Perhaps few tourists would go far 
out of their way to visit it; but one passing 
through it should stop over a day or two — there 
is a comfortable European style hotel operated 
by Japanese — and interesting excursions may 
be made to the old Imperial palace, the examina- 
tion halls, and the tombs where the ancestors of 
the last emperors of China are buried. It is a 
fascinating repository of many souvenirs of a 
brilliant past ; and in its modern structures and 



An Oriental Berlin 363 

the newer business methods that are being in- 
troduced there is much that is prophetic of a 
brilliant future. But the Great Wall of China 
was built to shut out from the Celestial Empire 
all connection with this alien country to the 
north, which excepting for its military exploits, 
and its conquest of the Dragon Throne, might 
never have seemed to be of great importance to 
the West. 

Manchuria and its capital seem worthy of at- 
tention principally because the tourist or visi- 
tor in China — who should not think of visiting 
the Far East without at least a peep at one of 
the most wonderful little countries on earth, 
Korea — passes by rail through these northern 
provinces, which seem but the frontiers of that 
attractive yellow land to the south and only a 
dull reflection of its warmth and ancient at- 
tractiveness. It is practically the difference 
between the fertile area of Africa known as the 
Soudan, and the Nile Valley. When the Sou- 
danese were wandering tribes of nomads, Egyp- 
tians were rearing immortal temples and 
monuments; when the Manchus were living in 
caves, China had a history thousands of years 
old. Culture is preferable to barbarism, even 
when viewed by the tourist of later centuries. 




CHAPTER XIV 

china's little sistee 

>REA, again known as Chosen under 
Japanese rule, claims to date its history 
as a nation from tlie year 2333 b. c, which 
is about sixteen hundred years before the found- 
ing of Eome. Scientific historians are inclined 
to doubt this date, because the Eastern scholars 
are of the opinion that about this time the Son 
of the Creator of Heaven came to earth, accom- 
panied by heavenly spirits, and being so taken 
with the natural beauties of Korea that he pre- 
ferred the place to his previous abode, he 
alighted on a mountain-top and proclaimed him- 
self lord of all the world. And, of course, he 
became the imperial ancestor of the rulers of 
the country, who now find themselves virtual 
prisoners of the Japanese, whose imperial an- 
cestors were of much the same origin, accord- 
ing to native writers. Interesting as legends 
of a fancifully minded people, these stories are 
not of a kind that carry weight with Western 
scholars; but most of the latter seem to be of 

364 



China's Little Sister 365 

the belief that authentic history should begin 
from fully a thousand years before the dawn of 
the Christian era, which gives Korea an unin- 
terrupted history of three thousand years, in all 
of which she possessed sovereign rights which 
have now passed away. 

Even more successfully than China or Japan, 
Korea made of herself a hermit nation and un- 
til a comparatively recent date in history re- 
mained unknown to Europe. It is written that 
it was little short of treason for a Korean to as 
much as speak the name of another country, so 
self-sufficient did the nation consider itself. 
Presumably, the Arab geographer, Khordadbeh, 
who flourished in the Ninth Century, was the 
first to introduce it to Western lands, and he 
wrote of it as ''an unknown land beyond the 
frontiers of Kantu." A Jesuit priest was in 
the country in the Sixteenth Century, but the 
first authentic account of the nature of the coun- 
try came from a Dutch sailor named Hendrik 
Hamel, who was shipwrecked on the coast and 
obliged to remain for thirteen years before he 
escaped to Japan and thence to his home. 

Those ancient days, when the Land of the 
Morning Calm was so isolated that the outside 
world was barely aware of its existence, were 
in reality the golden days of its history; but 



366 The Spell of China 

Korea became out of joint with time in this se- 
clusion and the manners and customs that grew 
up during the centuries finally sent her to her 
doom. Always a lover of peace, and rarely the 
aggressor, the time came when it was necessary 
for her to strike back in self defense, and her 
striking power was gone. She was impotent, 
and when her bigger neighbor had reached much 
the same comatose condition and from much the 
same causes, her alert and envious island neigh- 
bor, which had cherished the ambition for cen- 
turies, struck the blow and became master of 
the ''Land of Gold," concerning which the Em- 
press Jingo of Japan dreamed before she at- 
tempted its conquest and gave birth to her son, 
who is still worshiped as a Japanese god of war. 
The old-time Korean society was divided into 
two classes : the oppressors and the oppressed — . 
the Yang-ban (nobles) and the Ha-in (com- 
moners). Theoretically, at least, the Yang-han 
were the sons or the descendants of kings born 
of concubines. According to the custom, every 
son of a Yang-han inherited his father's status, 
and this idle class, which not only claimed de- 
scent from royalty but, like the kings of Korea, 
claimed ancestors from heaven itself, became 
so numerous that at the time of the Japanese 
annexation it was said to include one-fifth of 



China's Little Sister 367 

the entire native population. They could do no 
work on account of their elevated station in the 
social scale, so, naturally, laws and customs 
were evolved that permitted them to exist at 
the expense of the workers and the limits to 
which the privileged class extended their tyr- 
anny is almost incredible to-day. In a way, it 
corresponded to the social position of the 
Samurai in ancient Japan, men who tried a new 
sword's edge by hacking off the head of a com- 
moner at a single blow, if the latter so much as 
raised his eyes as the military lords were pass- 
ing them in the streets ; but the Samurai were 
the courageous protectors of Nippon, while the 
Yang-ban were not even of this intrinsic value 
to Korea. They could ignore all debts, illegal 
but customary, their houses were inviolate 
against the law, they could demand the best ac- 
commodations at inns, for which they offered no 
payment, and arrest was impossible, except for 
treason, which left them free to do about as they 
pleased, and they pleased to do everything in 
their power to make the lives of the Korean 
people intolerable, and to drive the country into 
the hands of its enemies. 

The king's person was so sacred that all sub- 
jects were forbidden to mention his name during 
his lifetime, and his portrait could not be 



368 The Spell of China 

painted until after death. No male subject 
could touch him, nor could metal — which was di- 
rectly responsible for the death of several mon- 
archs, who might have lived if relieved by sur- 
gical operations. If, through an accident, the 
imperial person touched a male, the place where 
he did so became sacred and was distinguished 
by a red ribbon afterwards. When the ruler 
died, the entire nation was plunged into mourn- 
ing for three years, during the first five months 
of which there could be no marriages in the 
country, no public or private entertainments, no 
slaughtering of animals, no execution of crimi- 
nals, and all subjects were obliged to put on 
coats of unbleached hemp. 

Even among Eastern countries the subjec- 
tion of women reached its climax in Korea. 
The Mongol or Chinese princesses sometimes 
accompanied their fathers or brothers to the 
battlefield and their superiority to animals was 
recognized ; but not so in the land of the Yang- 
ban. A girl was the slave of her brothers and 
father until her marriage, in which she had no 
voice, and thereafter she was the slave of her 
husband and sons. Custom did not permit her 
to speak to her husband on the bridal day. Per- 
haps he would tantalize or plead with her, but 
her lips must remain sealed, and spying fe- 




A KOREAN BEAUTY 



China's Little Sister 369 

male servants in her new home were glad to re- 
port to her friends if she so forgot herself as to 
speak to her husband before she had been his 
wife for twenty-four hours. Her "inferiority" 
not only followed her through life, but also 
after death, because the widower mourned for 
her only a few months, whereas if the husband 
died, his widow was supposed to wear mourn- 
ing the remainder of her life and, although she 
might remarry, it was much as if her second 
husband had taken a new slave into his house 
and her children were considered illegitimate. 

The Koreans, however, rigidly maintained 
their national isolation until the last quarter of 
the Nineteenth Century. The country has a 
total area of about eighty-four thousand square 
miles, with a coast line thought to be about sev- 
enteen hundred miles in length. Its waters 
teem with fish, but the Japanese and Chinese 
fishermen reaped many of the benefits there- 
from, even in an early day, when all that Korea 
asked was that foreigners never land on her 
soil. The land, however, was always a tempta- 
tion to the Japanese fishermen, who often be- 
came pirates and then carried home exagger- 
ated tales of the Land of Gold. Hideyoshi, the 
''Napoleon of Japan," the commoner who hum- 
bled all feudal lords of his own country, invaded 



370 The Spell of China 

Korea and terrible bloodshed and plunder re- 
sulted. Even in the distant days the rulers of 
Japan were determined to annex this territory 
of the continent of Asia to their own island pos- 
sessions, an ambition that was not realized for 
many centuries, but which has now come to its 
fullest flower. 

Korea is recognized by the visitor entering 
it from Manchuria, because it is a country of 
hills and mountains, which the early mission- 
aries described as ''very like the waves of the 
sea in a storm. ' ' The train runs along through 
valleys and around hills, much as it does in the 
mountain regions of Pennsylvania. Almost im- 
mediately the character of the land changes 
after the border is crossed, and even a view of 
the country from a car window is a pleasure 
that the foreigner should not deny himself. 

Eoughly speaking, Korea is as large as the 
British Isles, and it occupies a place in Asia 
similar to the peninsula of Florida in the United 
States. The population figures are given at 
about fourteen million, but there are already 
over three hundred thousand Japanese in the 
land, and their number is being augmented with 
the passing of each steamer from the Japanese 
ports. 

More than ^' Paris is France," Seoul, the 





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China's Little Sister 371 

capital city, is Korea. From it, and its en- 
virons, it is possible for the visitor to obtain an 
impression of the country that will enable him 
to form an opinion of what the entire country 
is like, because it is the great meeting place for 
all classes and conditions of men, and life in and 
around Seoul is typical of what exists in all 
parts of the country. Arriving in Seoul, I had 
the good fortune to fall in with a gniide who 
seemed at first glance to be something of a 
"shrinking violet," after the rather confident 
and bold Chinese who served in a similar ca- 
pacity in the big neighboring republic. But he 
proved to be a most competent guide, and from 
the officials I saw, the Koreans who were still 
left in office, as well as by comparison to the 
gentlemen I met in the streets, he seemed to rise 
head and shoulders above the crowd, and in re- 
ply to my questions he soon assured me that 
he had not lost his ''ambition," but that it was 
''too late" for him. The most he could hope 
for — perhaps he was thirty years of age — ^was 
that his children would fare better than he. 

"The Japanese are here and perhaps they 
will bring about great reforms," he said. "I 
hope so, and so do all Koreans, for we realize 
that we had nothing to hope for from our own 
rulers. It was a case of falling to the Chinese, 



372 The Spell of China 

the Eussians or to the Japanese. Perhaps it 
is better as it is. But you cannot change a peo- 
ple's way of thinking in one generation, even if 
you do enforce foreign laws, widen streets, clean 
up centuries of filth, stop graft in low and high 
places and put the house in order. These 
things may have a bearing on the next genera- 
tion, but they cannot redeem this one. Take 
my case, for example. I learned English at a 
mission school and I was fairly well educated 
in the classics of my own country and China. I 
had hoped, despite everything, that I might have 
a future. Everything went well until my edu- 
cation was 'completed,' as my fathers put it. 
He said that the time had come for me to marry. 
Now, every Korean considers it necessary to 
marry at some time, so I replied that I expected 
to do so, as soon as I found some one who 
pleased me. I wanted first to complete my 
studies and be in a position to support my wife 
and family. My father said something about 
* European ways' being all right for Europeans, 
but added that they would not do for Koreans. 
You see, he reserved the right to think for him- 
self. He said he had picked a wife for me, so I 
might as well prepare myself to be married im- 
mediately. I had never seen my wife until I 
stood with her at the wedding ceremony. It 



China's Little Sister 373 

was my father's command and it was her 
father's command. Neither of us had anything 
to say. Both of us were disappointed when 
we saw one another. We could not like each 
other and we have never done so — and prob- 
ably never will, but we are married for life. All 
we can look forward to is that our children may 
have happier fates." 

So with very competent "explanations," I 
pursued my leisurely way through the capital, 
always checking myself when I thought that it 
was not yet time to form an opinion. Japanese 
were everywhere. So many of them in author- 
ity could not fail to be having an influence. 
They are passing most rigid laws — for the 
Japanese have a way of passing laws that in 
their translated form to the world do not sound 
exactly as they are in active operation — ^but I 
could not see that they were succeeding in 
changing the Korean's methods of thought and 
thinking. 

Apropos of this detail, I met an American 
missionary who told me of his experiences. 
Although Japan blazes to the world the fact 
that under its rule there will be complete free- 
dom for religion in Korea, this man said that 
the lines are much more rigidly drawn than in 
the older day under the miserable rule of Ko- 



374 The Spell of China 

rean kings, one of the last of whom persecuted 
Christians and attempted to drive them from 
the country. 

''The Japanese make a fine distinction be- 
tween a 'permit' and 'permission' in these mat- 
ters of religion," he said. "Before I speak in 
a village, I must report to the authorities what 
I am going to say. If it passes muster, they 
give me a 'permit' to speak. But I may arrive 
at the village and find that my 'permit' does not 
give me 'permission' to open my mouth. I have 
a private school, supported entirely from funds 
received from home. But I am not permitted to 
mention religion in the school, because the Japa- 
nese will not permit it. ' ' 

Yet Korea is a country that has been receiv- 
ing the Christian message since 1594, when 
Gregorio de Cespedes, a Jesuit missionary, was 
in the country. And Christian institutions have 
flourished for centuries, bearing very apparent 
fruits for good. But Christianity had a diffi- 
cult field in which to work. The Korean intel- 
lect has reached a very low plane, after cen- 
turies of dissipation that went unchecked, and 
at least one avowed "Christian" to whom I 
talked could not tell me the difference between 
Christianity and Buddhism. He was a "Chris- 
tian," just as many men in America are republi- 



China's Little Sister 375 

cans or democrats — he did not know why, or at 
least could not explain why. 

I wandered about Seoul streets and visited its 
principal sights and places of interest, includ- 
ing the old North Palace, where the queen was 
murdered only a few years ago, and finally came 
to the East Palace, where the king and queen re- 
side. Here I had ''reached the throne" of the 
country. To be sure, the throne was vacant, be- 
cause the man who occupied it is in ''retire- 
ment. ' ' And the vacant throne, the shabby fur- 
niture of the palace itself, the rusty "official," 
who showed me through — all at the heart of 
Korea — proved at last what I had at first sur- 
mised. Japan had annexed Korea; she had 
swallowed the country. Even the name has 
been changed, for Korea is now "Chosen" in 
the geographies and guidebooks. Japan is 
rapidly changing the names of the cities to con- 
form with Japanese nomenclature. Seoul (pro- 
nounced in every way from Sole to Sow-ohl) has 
become Keijo, and most of the other cities are 
merely awaiting the edict that will make them 
Japanese in name as well as in fact. 

Observers told me before I reached Korea 
that I would there find Japan in her full ad- 
ministrative flower. Formosa is too far away. 
People do not go there, unlegs thej have busi- 



376 The Spell of China 

ness — tea or camphor. It is different in Korea, 
for around-the-world tourists usually pass 
through the country. As a power with colo- 
nies, Japan stands before the gaze of the world, 
and she is well aware of it ; so things have been 
arranged as they are in Japan, to contribute to 
the traveler's comfort and interest. 

So Japanese rule in Korea is a triumphant 
success, for all the stranger sees. Schools for 
experiments in all sorts of agricultural pursuits 
have been established at various cities. The 
Japanese have tried to introduce foreign farm- 
ing implements to make work easier. They 
have tried to improve the silk industry. They 
have pulled down whole neighborhoods of un- 
hygienic buildings to make way for boulevards 
and wide avenues, where there were alleys be- 
fore they came. They have brought about a 
healthier people by cleaning up the foul cess- 
pools. But the people feel that they have lost 
their ''liberty.'* Of course they never had 
any real liberty, and almost any kind of an ad- 
ministration would be better for the country 
than the one which passed with the entrance of 
Japan; but the people know that their nation 
has ceased to exist. Koreans of the next gener- 
ation will be Japanese. 

To visit the famous East Palace one makes 




. ■:##^' 






^ 



China's Little Sister 377 

application at his consulate and the desired per- 
mit is readily granted, usually within a few 
hours. The document names the hour when the 
visitor is expected and an attendant is in wait- 
ing at the palace gate, to act as an escort for 
whoever is recommended by his national repre- 
sentative. The man who greeted me as my 
rikisha paused in front of the ornate gate was 
barely a person one would expect to be a palace 
attendant. In fact, he was a Korean who held 
his position by the grace of the Mikado's gov- 
ernment in Chosen. The Japanese have not 
taken all of the positions, although they seem to 
be in the majority where the position counts for 
anything. 

My attendant had a growth of beard which 
proved that he had not shaved for at least a 
week. Probably he thought he was dressed in 
the European manner, because he had on a 
rusty coat that was probably given to him by 
some visitor of the long ago. His collar was 
dirty and his necktie was frayed. In America 
he would have been classed as a tramp, if met 
in the streets. But he was the guardian of the 
palace, a beautiful series of structures inclosed 
within high walls, guarded by the oriental gate, 
at which Korean and Japanese soldiers stand at 
attention when there is an arrival by rikisha or 



378 The Spell of China 

carriage. As he stepped forward to examine 
my credentials it seemed like some grim joke; 
but I had been several days in Seoul, so I real- 
ized that it was no joke and acknowledged his 
bows of greeting. 

Perhaps he thought he would receive a good 
''tip" — and he did, because I gave him fifty 
cents, which is a good deal of money in Korea — 
so he showed me the palace from cellar to roof. 
He told me many tales, which he assured me few 
strangers are permitted to hear, because ''walls 
have good ears" and the Japanese are good lis- 
teners. It is not discreet to talk too much and 
the Korean does not "understand English" 
when questions are asked in regard to the Japa- 
nese administration of his country's affairs. 

' ' Have you a card ? ' ' asked the palace attend- 
ant, after he had deposited the yen in his pocket. 
I handed him the requested piece of paper, and 
he wrapped it carefully in a big handkerchief as 
he said: "Each evening His Majesty asks me 
to tell him who has visited the palace and who 
has approached his throne. I shall be pleased 
to hand him your card. ' ' 

It was a pathetic climax to my observations in 
the palace, and I came away thinking that old 
Korea is dead. From the ashes a new Korea 
will rise, but the world will know it as Chosen, 



Chilians Little Sister 379 

and it will be merely a province of the central 
government at Tokyo! 

The government railways have erected at 
Seoul what is popularly known as ''the best 
hotel in the Far East." Tourists do not stop 
long at the inns and hotels in other cities ; they 
form their opinion of Korea — and of Japan in 
Korea — ^while stopping at the Chosen Hotel. 
It is an institution that will compare favorably 
with any hotel in America, completely rivaling 
any in America or Europe in the very important 
matter of service. Private bathrooms are at- 
tached to each sleeping apartment in the place, 
and "Hot Water" on the spigot means hot 
water. And everything else about the place 
means exactly what is claimed for it, everything 
that might contribute to the traveler's comfort 
or peace of mind. 

On arrival, one 's luggage is taken to his room 
and deposited. Then, if wanted, a hot or cold 
bath is quickly prepared by an attendant, after 
which the guest may leave his apartment, abso- 
lutely confident, if the keys are deposited in the 
hands of the room-boy, that every article of 
clothing will be taken out of trunks and bags, 
carefully brushed or pressed and hung on racks 
in a closet or deposited in drawers. Perhaps 
the guest will dress for dinner. A word to the 



380 The Spell of China 

room-boy, and when one returns he finds every- 
thing in readiness, for this personage seems to 
know instinctively exactly what the ''honorable 
mister" will care to wear, even to the particular 
collar and necktie. At night the guest goes to 
his room and finds as he opens the door that a 
small electric bulb has been left lighted near 
the head of the bed. A fine kimono and sandals 
are nearby on a chair, because the guest may 
care to read a little before retiring. Enter the 
room at any time of night and a servant usually 
taps at the door a minute later, asking if any- 
thing is wanted. 

*'Do you care to be called in the morning?" 

"No." 

"What time wiU you be awake?" 

"Perhaps seven o'clock." 

And as the hands of the clock reach that exact 
minute the next morning the Japanese boy en- 
ters with a tray on which are a pot of tea, two 
slices of toast, an orange or other fresh fruit, 
which he places on a stand at the head of the 
bed, while he goes to the bathroom and prepares 
the bath. 

And this doglike faithfulness is amply re- 
warded at the end of the week by a fifty-cent 
"tip." 

"Leaving at noon to-day," says the guest. 



China's Little Sister 381 

He may stay outside his room until eleven 
o'clock and come back to find every article 
packed in trunks and bags, much better than he 
could have arranged them himself. Porters 
take all checking and handling of baggage in 
charge — for it would not be ' * correct ' ' to permit 
a white man to carry any sort of a parcel or 
handbag. An automobile with a uniformed 
chauffeur and footman waits at the front door 
of the hotel to take guests to the railway sta- 
tion, where another hotel attendant attends to 
tickets, and usually lifts his cap with ''good- 
by" after he has seen to it that hotel guests 
have a comfortable seat in a railway carriage. 

The stranger leaves Seoul after having been 
carried around on a bed of roses. Such won- 
derful service is remarkable in any country, and 
the traveler is pleased. He feels that Japan is 
accomplishing wonders in Korea, where travel 
was formerly such an inconvenience. 

The food at the Chosen hotel in Seoul wouH 
compare favorably with that in a New York 
hotel or restaurant of the best class. The rooms 
and equipment would compare with any hotel in 
America. Japan knows how to please the 
weary foreigner. 

The Koreans are an ''unlovely race" at pres- 
ent, and one can understand in a measure how 



382 The Spell of China 

1 

the Japanese looks upon them with contempt, 
just as he does upon the Chinese, and much as an 
Englishman looks upon the ''natives" of Hong- 
kong, or the American upon the Filipino. It is 
''contempt for an inferior race." Once I saw 
an American military officer who had been long 
in the East, plowing his way along a crowded 
market street, pushing aside women and chil- 
dren with his swagger stick. (Oh, yes, our 
Yankee soldier in the East soon acquires the 
swagger stick and wrist-watch habit !) We had 
been walking together, so when I stepped into 
the street and avoided the crowd I remon- 
strated with him for having literally to push 
his way through the crowd. 

"I can't see that it is a mark of decent be- 
havior, nor even a convenience," I remarked to 
him. "This is their country; we are the * for- 
eigners.' They are as good as we are." 

"Perhaps you like to think that you are no 
better than they are," he sneered, "but that is 
because you are a stranger out here. I know 
blankety-blank well that they are not as good as 
I am, and they've got to get out of my way." 

This is the attitude of "superior races" in the 
East, and perhaps elsewhere. Japan now 
knows that she is a "superior yellow nation," 
because her scientists have established to their 




A TYPICAL KOREAN GENTLEMAN 



China's Little Sister 383 

own satisfaction that the Japanese people are of 
Southern Malay origin, and that they are only 
distantly related to their Mongolian brethren. 

The typical Korean gentleman looks like a 
scare-crow, when he is "dressed" for a prome- 
nade in the streets — at least by comparison to 
the Japanese. He wears a long and loose 
grass-cloth white coat that looks like a Mother 
Hubbard, being tied by strings around his arm 
pits. On his head is perched a little black net 
''plug" hat that is tied with black strings under 
his chin. His baggy trousers are tied with a 
string or ribbon about the ankles, and he often 
has white tape wound around his feet for 
hosiery, which is set off by clumsy shoes about 
three sizes too large. An American man would 
look like a side-show freak in such a costume, so 
little may be expected from the Korean, who 
usually has a beard of hairs that could be 
counted in three minutes, and a mustache that 
cannot number more than fifty hirsute strands. 
He often has negroid features and oriental eyes 
that are merely slits in his face, and usually 
seem to be closed. 

The national costume for the women consists 
of absurd balloon skirts and little short jackets 
that leave the breasts exposed — although the 
Japanese have endeavored to alter the national 



384 The Spell of China 

costume and have been successful in a measure, 
so that one so attired is popularly supposed to 
belong to the ** lower classes." A Korean 
woman never puts her arms in the sleeves of her 
coat. The sleeves are there, but she drapes the 
collar of her coat over her head and permits the 
sleeves to dangle over her ears. It is said that 
the origin of the custom was something as fol- 
lows: women were told in the early days that 
they must be ready to go away at a moment's 
notice in times of danger, not even waiting long 
enough to put their arms in the sleeves of their 
coats, because their lords and masters, the men, 
must not be kept waiting. Often they go bare- 
headed, save for the cloak, but one also sees 
them about the streets with head-gear of straw 
as large as two bushel hampers, which they hold 
in place with their hands. These, also, the 
Japanese are making it known, are worn only by 
the "lower classes," but plenty of the women 
care more for the Korean tradition than they 
do for the Japanese ''class distinctions." 

When the father of a Korean gentleman dies, 
the son goes into mourning by putting on a gi- 
gantic mushroom straw hat, which reaches far 
out over his shoulders and which he should wear 
for three years. A glance into the highways of 
Seoul causes one to think that the father of 




MAK IN MOURNING, KOREA 



China's Little Sister 385 

about every man in twenty has died within the 
time limit, because about that percentage of the 
male population seems to be in ** mourning." 
And one does not "mourn," at least officially or 
outwardly, for a wife, sister or mother. 

It is a question whether the male or female of 
Korea is costumed the more ridiculously. They 
are rarely seen together, however, for the 
Korean gentleman would not so far forget his 
''superiority" and dignity as to be seen publicly 
with a woman. So he struts around alone, or 
with his pals. And, apparently, they are never 
at home until well into the wee hours of the 
morning. My guide explained, when I re- 
marked that all male Seoul seemed to be in the 
streets at night, in the restaurants, or at the 
theater: "They do not like to stay at home, 
where they must see their wives. Like mine, 
they were all chosen for them by their relatives 
and they do not care to look at them when it is 
unnecessary." 

A Korean theater is a rather tame institu- 
tion, where performances are given on the stage, 
but where the principal object seems to be to 
provide agreeable feminine companionship for 
the men. Women, as a rule, never venture into 
the playhouses, and if they do, they sit off in a 
part of the house specially reserved for them, 



386 The Spell of China 

as in Chinese theaters. Sing-song girls cavort 
in a rather unseemly and dull manner in ''na- 
tional dances," and play instruments that are 
not pleasing to occidental ears, but seem to help 
the oriental to ''forget." And that is what the 
average native of the Land of the Morning Calm 
seems to be doing most of the time; trying to 
forget to what depths his nation has fallen. He 
is not to blame, perhaps, for his father 's father 
and grandfather paved the way for him. The 
reckoning was certain to come some day, and it 
is already here. Japan is his traditional and 
hereditary enemy ; but Japan has won out in the 
race and is his master. Japan has her reward 
for much waiting, wrested from Russia after a 
bloody fight— but it is not just the land of gold 
that it was thought to be, worth more from a 
military point of view than from the treasures 
in the hills. But Japan is satisfied, and Russia 
seems to be ; it being very apparent to the casual 
observer that the two nations which were at 
one another 's throats a few years ago have come 
to an "understanding" in regard to the distribu- 
tion of much of the territory of the earth's sur- 
face. Poor old Korea ! There could have been 
little more than the national skeleton to pick at 
when Japan arrived. Perhaps there was never 
a better example of a nation passing into com- 



China's Little Sister 387 

plete decay. Even old China is a lusty and 
healthy nation compared to her little sister to 
the north, because although temples have faded 
and become moss-covered, although temple 
courts are often enough the repositories of 
stagnant water and filth, although the religion 
of the people has passed and they have lost most 
of their interest in the arts, in agriculture and 
in commercial pursuits that bind a nation, the 
Chinese have not materially deteriorated phys- 
ically, and it is still a question whether they 
have deteriorated mentally. The Korean whom 
one meets in the streets of the cities and the 
poor creature who drudges from dawn until 
sunset in the rice-fields in the valleys of this 
land of hills seems to be a dejected and unfor- 
tunate human being and his poor side-partner, 
wife, sister and mother, are only at his level, 
because they, too, have suffered from the miser- 
able reign of debauchery that has held the coun- 
try in its grip for centuries. 

Seoul lies in a valley surrounded by pointed 
hills, almost as if it were in the tremendous 
crater of a volcano ; but it does not convey the 
impression of being smothered by nature's great 
fortifications, which is so frequently the case 
in valley cities. Seoul ranges over a large ter- 
ritory within the city walls, and there is con- 



388 The Spell of China 

siderable area beyond that lies within the great 
basin, yet when one ascends any of the encir- 
cling hills and looks over the city it seems to fill 
the valley with red roofs, light buildings and 
green foliage. Such a view may be obtained 
from the top of the three-peaked mountain, 
which is known to visitors as the Cock's Comb. 
The ride in this direction is one of the many 
pleasant jaunts for foreign visitors to the capi- 
tal city. But an hour's ride in any direction 
beyond the walls takes one into the country, 
where the conditions are almost as primitive as 
they are in remote parts of the country. The 
Korean peasant dwells in his little mud or 
straw-thatched cottage and tills his small fields 
that reach sheer to the walls of the metropolis, 
which are so crumbling in places that much 
vegetation has rooted itself in them and gives 
the big artificial mound the appearance of a nat- 
ural ridge when viewed from a distance. The 
country people about Seoul are usually meek 
and gentle folk, who do not resent the staring 
eyes of the stranger, but seem to welcome his 
interest in their humble life. 

The city wall is one of the sights of the capital 
that is likely to be a never-ending delight to the 
visitor. It is a structure that dates from the 
reign of Yi Taijo, who located his capital in the 



A Gateway in Seoul 



China's Little Sister 389 

valley and is said to have requisitioned the serv- 
ices of two hundred thousand of his subjects 
when he put up the fortification, which was as- 
suredly modeled after the Great Wall of China. 
It is fourteen miles in circumference, from 
twenty-five to forty feet in height, and is pierced 
by eight gates and numerous arches, which span 
the streams that here, as elsewhere in Korea, 
go rushing from the hills towards the sea. The 
Big Bell, which hangs in an ornate kiosk, has a 
direct connection with the walls and the gates. 
It is ten feet high and eight feet wide, and its 
booming is easily heard in all parts of the valley. 
For at least five centuries the bell sounded the 
signal for the closing of the city gates at night 
and the opening of the gates in the morning. It 
also sounded a curfew in the evening, which was 
a signal for all men to go inside some building 
and the women of Seoul to take to the streets for 
air and exercise — a custom that departed after 
the city became popular with foreigners, but one 
that was rigidly enforced by imperial decree in 
the earlier day. It is related that when the 
bell was cast in 1396, the metals failed to fuse 
into the desired bronze until a living child was 
thrown into the molten mass ; and the wails of 
the child are heard by the Koreans whenever 
the bell is rung. 



390 The Spell of China 

The Legation Quarter seems to be almost in 
the country, although well within the city 
limits. Eesidences are surrounded by beauti- 
ful gardens, as are many of the homes of mis- 
sionaries, about seventy-five per cent, of whom 
are Americans. About six miles distant are the 
buildings of the old Pook Han monastery, once 
a favorite rendezvous for the kings who had 
left their thrones, the priests of Buddha and the 
literati. A few priests remain, but the place 
is sadly neglected at the present time, although 
it is an alluring climax to a day's excursion 
from the Seoul hotel, and it is a popular camp- 
ing ground for the missionaries during their 
summer holidays. A more pretentious collec- 
tion of buildings — about fifty shrines and 
monasteries — are assembled on Diamond Moun- 
tain, about one hundred miles from Seoul. Ar- 
rangements for the traveler to visit these 
will be made upon application at the hotel, 
where guide and equipment will be provided; 
but it is a trip that will appeal to the more 
adventurous tourists, while the casual visitor 
will be satisfied with the more easily accessi- 
ble points of interest in the neighborhood 
that will enable him to return to the hotel at 
night. 
As before noted, the properly identified visi- 



Chilians Little Sister 391 

tor will be admitted to the East Palace, and 
without identification or guide he may enter the 
grounds of the old North Palace; but the prin- 
cipal joy of the Korean visit is likely to be not in 
the palaces, which are rather tawdry imitations 
of the royal dwellings of China or Japan, but 
the street life, mingling with the people of the 
capital and the people of its environs. While 
the curio or souvenir hunter may not find so 
much to interest him as in the streets of the 
Chinese capital, there are a few things in the 
shops that he will not have encountered else- 
where, and hunting them out in uninviting little 
junk-shops and second-hand stores — the pos- 
sessions of a Korean gentleman are frequently 
sold following his death — will make an appeal 
to many Americans and provide many interest- 
ing jaunts in the quest of articles that sometimes 
prove to be valuable specimens of native manu- 
facture. Brass articles, bowls, candlesticks and 
teapots, are frequently as beautiful as any to be 
found in Damascus or other Syrian cities noted 
for similar wares. Chests of all kinds, from 
those manufactured from chestnut or the wood 
of the Chinese pagoda tree to beautiful rose- 
wood chests trimmed with brass, will provide a 
veritable happy hunting ground for the lover of 
beautiful furniture, but alas, some of these 



392 The SpeU of China 

things do not well survive the winters of an 
American steam-heated house, which is likely to 
diminish the joy of the lucky purchaser. 

The North Palace consists of many brilliantly 
painted and intricately carved buildings, which 
are unoccupied, but which the Japanese govern- 
ment is taking steps to preserve for future gen- 
erations; because they have played an impor- 
tant part in the Korean national history and 
they are likely to be treasured possessions to 
residents and visitors of the future. As it was 
said of a French novelist: ''He is too young 
to be a classic and too old to be popular," so the 
events that have transpired within these palace 
walls are too recent to be viewed in the light of 
"history." The generation still survives that 
knew the oppression, maladministration, as- 
sassinations and horrors that eminated from 
these buildings, and they are viewed as the 
locale of one of the bloodiest dramas that was 
ever enacted in any country much as the modern 
Chinese view the palaces of the Manchus, who 
threatened to bring the country to ruin, but were 
unable to do so because of the vitality of the 
natives, who could not be crushed by the invad- 
ing foreigner, although he remained for cen- 
turies. One of the most attractive buildings 
is the Keikairo, which is popularly known as the 



China's Little Sister 393 

Summer Pavilion, the Hall of Congratulations 
and Audience Hall. It is a vast pavilion, tlie 
roof of which is supported by eight rows of 
large granite columns — rarely used in Far 
Eastern architecture — and it looks out upon a 
beautiful lotus pond, the banks of which are 
evergreen, with mounds of pine and fir trees. 
Here the concubine-loving monarchs of Korea 
spent their summer afternoons with the ladies 
of the court, and royal barges floated on the 
pond, which is now deserted, save by water 
fowls. This building seems to have been mod- 
eled after the celebrated floating palaces of 
India, and for a long period it was the scene of 
courtly revels that are depicted by the novelists, 
whose imagination could not picture more weird 
intrigues and plots than actually transpired on 
the shores of the lotus pond. 

One of the latest of these startling events 
dates only to 1895, when the assassination of the 
queen precipitated most of the events in Korea's 
doom, as the assassination of the Austrian heir 
precipitated the great war in Europe. The 
Queen, like Draga of Servia, had been influential 
in placing many members of her family in high 
positions. This and other things aroused jeal- 
ousies, and she became the victim of the plot- 
tings of powerful men at court, who had the aid 



394 The Spell of China 

of Japanese ruffians in the accomplishments of 
their black designs. Before dawn, they forced 
an entrance to the queen's pavilion, abused her 
ladies and compelled them to divulge her hiding- 
place. Flying from the assassins, she was 
stabbed and fell to the pavement, whereupon 
some one thrust a sword through and through 
her body. Still unsatisfied, the blood-thirsty 
mob carried the corpse to a pine wood nearby, 
soaked her garments with kerosene, set fire to 
them and piled on wooden fagots until only a 
few bones were recovered, when the authorities 
quelled the disorder the following day. The 
king fled in terror to the Eussian legation, where 
he received protection and where he remained 
for an extended period. He had granted va- 
rious concessions to Eussian capitalists and 
finally reached the point where he was acting in 
open defiance of the law by exploiting the nat- 
ural resources of Korea for the benefit of Eus- 
sian syndicates in which the imperial family of 
Eussia were financially interested. When Eus- 
sian laborers, guarded by a Eussian military 
guard, entered Korea for the purpose of felling 
the trees to obtain construction material for a 
railway the bomb exploded. The war with 
Japan followed, Eussia was defeated and the 
country's affairs passed gradually, but cer- 



China's Little Sister 395 

tainly, to the control of Tokyo, culminating in 
the decree of annexation. 

At the time of annexation the Mikado par- 
doned nearly two thousand Korean criminals, 
granted special gifts to over twelve thousand 
members of the aristocracy and literati, re- 
warded over three thousand ''faithful women" 
and distributed bounties to the rural districts. 
Immediately a far-reaching school system was 
organized with special courses to advance the 
interests of all native industries. Nothing more 
fortunate for the people of Korea had happened 
since the Son of the Creator of Heaven began 
his earthly rule from a Korean mountain-top. 
The reign of terror was over. Of course Korea 
was paralyzed by the shock. A liberal and wise 
administration in her country was something so 
rare and unexpected that she has been stag- 
gered by the blow. She is passing through her 
transition period and will again assume her 
rightful place in the world ; but, when she does, 
she will be a province of Nippon. Korea as a 
kingdom has passed forever, and perhaps for 
her people and the rest of the world it were 
better so. 

One day I took the train that follows a ser- 
pentine trail from Seoul to Fusan, the enter- 



396 The SpeU of China 

prising city on the hillside from which the 
steamers make twice-daily sailings for Shimon- 
oseki, Japan, whence a leisurely or rapid jour- 
ney may be made by rail to Yokohama, the prin- 
cipal point of departure from the Far East for 
America. I went up to the captain's bridge and 
looked back at the Yon-sen Mountains, the bar- 
rier that separated me from China, where I had 
spent happy days, weeks and months. There 
came that feeling of sadness that one expe- 
riences when parting from old friends; but it 
passed with the next thought. It might be a 
long time before I would see China again. One 
thing I could do, however, I could recommend 
her unqualifiedly as a fascinating companion to 
all who seek a delightful excursion in a foreign 
country. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



There is a Manual of Chinese Bibliography by Moellendorff, 
which contains the titles of over four thousand books and 
articles on China, and the "Bibliotheca Sinica" by Henri 
Cordier contains hundreds of references of similar nature, 
while Wylie's "Notes on Chinese Literature" will be a valuable 
reference book to the student or specialist. These volumes, 
however, may not be easily accessible for casual reference, and 
the Allowing condensed list is likely to be sufficient to provide 
desired information in regard to the general subject of the 
Tour of China : 

Ball, Charles J.: Things Chinese. 
Bishop, Isabelle L. B. : Korea and Her Neighbors. 

^Yangtze Valley and Beyond, The. 

Bland, John and Edmund Backhouse : China Under the Em- 
press Dowager. 
Carl : With the Empress Dowager of China. 
Christianisme en China, Le. 
Clarke: Ten Great Religions. 
Der Ling : Two Years in the Forbidden City. 
Denby, Charles: China and Her People. 
Douglas, Robert K. : Society in China. 
Edwards, Owen M.: The Story of China. 
Falke: Buddha, Mahammed, Christus, 
Feeb, Henri L. : Etudes Bouddhique. 
Gale, James S.: Korean Sketches. 
GiFFOBD, Daniel L. : Korea : Every Day Life In. 
Giles, Herbert A.: Sayings of Confucius. 
Giles, Herbert A.: A History of Chinese Literature. 
GoBDON-CuMMiNG: Wanderings in China. 
Hamilton, Angus: Korea. 
Hardy, Edward J. : John Chinaman at Home. 
Hatch, Ernest F. G.: Far Eastern Impressions. 
Holcombe, Chesteb: The Real Chinaman, 
397 



398 Bibliography 



Jebnigan, Thomas R.: China's Business Methods and Policy. 

Jones: Tsingtau, The Fall of. 

Kemp, E. G. : Manchuria, Korea and Russian Turkestan. 

Kennedy: Religions and Philosophies of Far East. 

KoEPPEN, Gael F. : Religion des Buddha, Die. 

Lee Yan Phou: When I was a Boy in China. 

Legge, James: Confucius' Life and Teaching, 

Little: The Far East. 

LONGFOED, Joseph H. : The Story of Korea. 

Mabtin, William A. P.: Awakening of China, The. 

McCobmick, Fredeeick: The Flowery Republic. 

Meadows, Thomas T.: Chinese and Their Rebellions. 

MiLLASD, Thomas F.: The New Far East. 

MiLN, Louise J.: Quaint Korea. 

Official Guide to Easteen Asia, Tokyo. 

Pabkee, Edwaed H.: John Chinaman and a Few Others. 

Paesons, William B.: American Engineer in China, An. 

Saint Hilaiee: Bouddha et sa Religion. 

Scheeibee: Buddha imd die Frauen. 

SciDMOBE, Eliza R. : China, The Long Lived Empire. 

Simon, Thomas: Cite Chinoise, La. 

Smith, Abthue H.: Chinese Characteristics. 

Tebey, Thomas P.: Japanese Empire. 

Tokyo: Official Guide to Eastern Asia. 

Vladimie: China- Japan War, The. 

Von Plath, Johann H.: Confucius und seine Schueler. 

Weale: Manchu and Muscovite. 

Westeegaaed, Niels L.: Ueber Buddha's Todesjahr. 

Wilson, James H. : The Ever-Victorious Army. 

WuBM: Buddha, Der. 



INDEX 



Abbe Hue, 78, 209. 

Actors, 120, 124, 127, 297; 

status of, 119, 126. 
Ah Cum, 51, 52, 54, 56, 59. 
Amoy, 87, 185. 
Ancestor worship, 265, 334. 
Au-King, 200. 
Art, 229-234. 

B 

Bakst, Leon, 116. 
Bard, Emile (quoted), 279. 
Barker, Granville, 115. 
Benares, 271, 272. 
Bird Fanciers, 93-95. 
Bogue-Fortress, 30. 
Boxers, 263, 303, 316, 359. 
Brethren of Pear Orchard 

(actors), 119. 
Buddha, 129, 179, 265-271, 

273-277, 279, 311, 314, 374, 

390; father of, 270, 272; 

mother of, 270. 



Camphor, 376. 



Camoens, Luiz de, 80, 81. 
Canton, 13, 27-29, 31-41, 43- 

48, 58, 60, 65, 185, 248, 278; 

Five-storied Pagoda, 32 ; 

Trade Guilds of, 40; City of 

the Dead, 42. 
Capital Punishment, 144, 145. 
Cats, as food, 32, 47. 
Cha Pih-yung (actor), 118- 

127. 
Chaplin, Charlie, 102-104. 
Chang Shih-Cheng, 159. 
Chan-Tien-you, 228. 
Cheng-tsung, 277. 
Chien Liu, 153. 
Chih-li, 348. 
Chin-an-fu, 352, 353. 
Ching-lung-chiao, 336, 338, 

339. 
Chin-Kiang, 185-187, 190. 
Chop Suey, 24. 
Chosen (Korea), 364-396. 
Christian Missions, 92, 172, 

173, 187-189, 202, 267, 277- 

279, 365, 373. 
Chu-fou, 276. 
Chung-tu, 275. 
City of Heaven (Hangchow), 

130-175. 
Cockroaches, as food, 41, 
Copper, 206, 



400 



Index 



Confucius, 129, 179, 265, 273- 

276. 
Craig, Gordon, 107, 108. 



Daruma, 215. 

Davids, Dr. T. W. Rhys 

(quoted on Lamaism), 268. 
Delai Lama, 286. 
Diaghileff, Serge de, 117. 
Diamond Mountain, 390. 
Dogs, as food, 32, 47. 
Dowager Empress, 236, 238, 

290, 291, 293, 303, 310, 323, 

334. 

E 

"Elder Brother of Jesus 

Christ," 188. 
Empress Jingo, 366. 
Eunuchs, 296-298. 
"Ever Victorious Army," 189. 



Foo-chow, 87, 185. 
Formosa, 226, 375. 
Friar Odoric, 148. 
Funeral, 44, 45, 237-255. 
Funeral Boats, 34. 
Fusan, 395. 



Gambling, 73-78. 
Gordon-Cumming, C. F. 

( "Wanderings in China" 

quoted), 318. 



Grand Canal, 130, 146, 185, 

191, 264, 350. 
"Great Prince Chien," 153. 
Great Wall of China, 328, 

329, 338-340, 343, 359, 360, 

363, 389. 



"Hair Rebels," 188, 190. 

Hangchow, 130-176, 180, 181, 
187 ; "Oriental Venice," 147, 
148, "Queen City of Orient," 
149; West Lake, 163, 165- 
169, 173, 353; Tour of the 
Lake, 174, 175. 

Han-Hsin, 191, 192. 

Hankow, 8, 207-219, 251, 345; 
"Chicago of China," 207. 

Hankow-Peking Railroad, 215, 
216, 218-226, 230, 231. 

Han-shui, 209. 

Han-wang, 192, 193. 

Han-yang, 209, 212, 213, 251. 

Head-chopping, 144, 145. 

"Heavenly Prince," 188, 195. 

Hedin, Sven, 267. 

Heung-Kong (Hongkong), 13. 

Heung-Shan (Macao), 65. 

Ho-nam, 34, 51-53, 60, 62, 276, 
290, 325. 

Honan, 254. 

Honan City, 273. 

Hongkong, 5, 8, 10, 12, 14- 
21, 27, 29, 65, 79, 80, 87, 
89, 185, 248; "Gibraltar of 
the Orient," 9; Compared 
to Riviera, 11; "Fragrant 



Index 



401 



streams," 13; "The Peak," 
11, 16, 17, 20. 

Hotels, 23-26. 

House-boating, 128-175. 

Huang-Ho, 353. 

Huang-Ti, 206. 

Hu-Kow, 202. 

Hung Hsin-chuan, 188-190. 

Hu-tsen (Shanghai), 95. 

Hupeh, 252. 

Hsiau-Ku-shan, 200-202. 

Hsi-Tai-Hou ( Dowager Em- 
press), 291, 292, 301-305, 
308, 310, 326; "Old Budd- 
ha," 298, 299. 

Hwang-chow, 206. 

Hwang-shih-Kang, 182. 

Hwai-yiu, 191. 



Ichang, 207. 

India, 273 ; floating pal 

393. 
Iron Ore, 182. 



aces of. 



Japan (in China), 181-184, 
206, 344, 356-358, 362, 
373-379, 382, 395. 

"Japanese Gardens," 164, 166. 

Jesus Christ, 269, 270. 

Jones, Jefferson (quoted), 
357. 



Kaiping Coal Mines, 227. 



Kao-chou Bay, 354, 

Kao-tsu, 192. 

Keijo (Seoul), 375. 

Kennedy, J. M. ("The Phil- 
osophies and Religions of 
the East"), 273-274. 

"Kingdom of Great Peace," 
188. 

King-teh-chen, 202. 

Kiu-Kiang, 202, 203, 207. 

Korea, 274, 344, 362-396; 
Christianity in, 365, 374; 
Costumes in, 383-385; first 
mention of, 365; invasion 
by Hideyoshi, 369; "Land 
of Gold," 366; social divi- 
sions of, 366, 367; theaters 
of, 385 ; woman in, 368, 369. 

Kowloon, 14. 

Kuang-Hsu, 262, 281. 

Kublai Khan, 273, 277. 

Kung-fu-tze (Confucius), 274. 

Kun-ming-hu Lake, 291, 304. 

Kwang-si, 188. 

Kwang-timg (Canton), 34. 



Lake Poyang, 202, 204, 205. 

Lamaism, 265-268, 273, 277. 

Lao-Tze, 265, 276. 

Lhassa, 286. 

Libraries, 173, 187. 

Li Hung-chang, 24, 91, 189, 

348, 349. 
Lion-li-ho, 225. 
Li-Shan mountains, 353. 
"Little Orphan Island," 200- 

202. 



402 



Index 



Li Yuan-hung, 212, 246-248, 
250-254, 290, 325, 327. 

M 

Macao, 13, 65-79, 82; "Monte 

Carlo of Orient," 64; 

Camoens' grotto, 80, 81. 
Manchuria, 360, 362, 363. 
Manchus, 112-114, 188, 195, 

212, 229, 237, 249, 250, 252, 

254, 281, 290, 294, 314, 323, 

348, 359, 360, 362, 392. 
Marco Polo, 28, 44, 133, 147, 

148, 150, 151, 154, 165, 185, 

202. 
Mencius (Meng-tse), 265, 276. 
Meng-tse (Mencius), 265, 

276. 
Military, 171, 172, 184, 243. 
Ming Emperors, 194, 195, 197, 

198, 218, 264, 306, 331, 332. 
Ming-ti, 273. 
Ming Tombs, 115, 328-330, 

333-335. 
Mongolia, 339. 
Morrison, Robert, 278. 
Mo-tsou, 197. 
Motion Pictures, 97-104. 
Mukden, 113, 114, 350, 359, 

361, 362. 
Mailer, Max ("Chips from a 

German Workshop"), 270. 

N 

Nanking, 189, 190, 193-199, 

264, 278. 
Nankou, 198, 329, 330, 336, 



Nankou Pass, 328. 
Nestorian Christianity, 173, 

278. 
Mngpo, 185. 
Noor-chachu, 360, 361. 



Opium, 66-73, 88, 185, 187, 
297. 



Pantomime, 109. 

Pao-ting-fou, 225. 

Pawn-shops, 33. 

Pearl River, 30, 33. 

Pei-ho, 228. 

Pei-tai-ho, 359. 

Peking, 124, 128, 146, 187, 195, 
198, 212, 215, 218, 235, 239, 
254, 256-289, 291, 295, 313, 
328, 343, 348, 360; Baron 
von Kettler's memorial arch, 
316, 317; Cheng-yang-men 
Gate, 262; Five-Towered 
Pagoda, 310-312, 314; For- 
bidden City in, 243, 249, 
257, 265, 282, 290-292, 317- 
325 ; Legation Quarters, 
262, 263; Summer Palace 
at, 238, 290, 291, 294, 295, 
298, 302, 305-310, 322, 323; 
Temple of Agriculture, 266, 
286-288 ; Temple of Heaven, 
266, 280-287. 

Peking-Kalgan Railway, 228, 
328, 336, 337. 

Phonograph, 206. 



Index 



403 



Pig, as pet, 146. 
Pirates, 30-32, 38, 52, 53, 152. 
Pi-tan, 198, 199. 
Pook Han Monastery, 390. 
Postal System, 228, 229. 
Princess Der Ling, 113, 292, 
293, 304, 308. 



Q 



Queue, 141-146. 



Railways, 215, 216, 218-228, 
329, 336, 337, 354, 357. 

Bats, as food, 32, 46, 47. 

Reinhardt, Max, 110. 

Religion, 179-181, 183, 206, 
239, 247, 266, 334. 

Revolving Stage, 111. 

Ricci, Matteo (first mission- 
ary), 278. 

Roman Catholicism, 267, 268, 
270, 278. 

Russian Ballet, 117. 

S 

Sen-tsen (Shanghai), 95. 

Seoul, 370, 375, 385, 387; 
"Best hotel in the East," 
379; Called Keijo, 375; 
East Palace, 376-378, 390; 
Legation Quarters, 390 ; 
Keikairo, 392, 393; North 
Palace, 390,392; Pronuncia- 
tion of, 375; Walls of, 388, 
389. 

Shameen, 35-37, 41, 52, 63. 

Shanghai, 8, 84-90, 97-129, 



139, 142, 144, 175, 176, 180, 
181, 185, 194, 226, 229, 230, 
251, 343, 345; Bird market, 
91, 93-95; Mandarin's Tea 
House, 91, 92, 96; "Paris of 
the Orient," 83. 

Shajighai-Hangchow Railroad, 
159. 

Shan-hai-Kuan, 359. 

Shan-tung Railroad, 354. 

Shih-huang-ti, 277. 

Shimonoseki, 396. 

Shun (Emperor), 288. 

Si-an, 278. 

Sino-Japanese War, 228. 

Slavery, 57. 

Snakes, as food, 32, 47, 48. 

Soldier of China, 172. 

Standard Oil Company, 181. 

Suicide, 227, 228, 292. 

Su-Tung-po, 207. 

Swatow, 87. 



Taiping Rebellion, 186-190, 

195, 197, 348. 
Tai-ping-hsien, 199. 
Taku Fort, 228. 
Taming-hu Lake, 353. 
Tang Shao-yi, 251. 
Taoism, 206, 265, 276, 277, 

283. 
Ta-tung, 200. 
Tayeh Mines, 182, 206. 
Tea, 211, 214, 215, 376. 
Telegraph, 228, 229. 
Telephone, 229. 
Tientsin, 8, 228, 345-350, 353. 



404 



Index 



Tientsin-Pukow Railway, 357. 

Theater, 102, 106-109, 111- 
120, 122-126, 308, 385; 
Flowery Way, 110, 116, 121. 

Thibet, 177, 220, 272, 273. 

Trans-Siberian Railway, 350. 

Trench Warfare, 171. 

Tschoue-tcheon, 225. 

Tsimo, 357. 

Tsingtau, 351, 352, 354-359. 

Tsung-ming, 178, 184. 

Tsze Hsi An (Dowager Em- 
press), 291. 



Victoria, 10. 
Virgin Mary, 269. 

W 

Wang-tou-sien, 225. 
Wan-Shou-Shau (Summer 

Palace), 291. 
Wa-ti, 34. 

Whangpoo-Kiang, 88, 184. 
Widowhood, 49-63, 369. 
Wilson, H. H. (quoted), 268. 
Women, 49-63, 170, 171, 368, 

369; inferiority of, 122. 



Wu-chang, 209, 210, 212, 213. 
Wu-hu, 199. 
Wu-sueh, 205. 
Wu-sung, 178, 184, 226. 
Wu-ta-szu (Five-Towered Pa- 
goda), 311. 
Wu Ting-fang, 251. 



Yangchow, 190, 191. 

Yangzte-Kiang, 8, 88, 176, 
178-180, 183-186, 188-208, 
254; "Child of the Sea," 
177; gorges of, 208; "River 
of Fragrant Tea Fields," 
177; "Son of the Ocean," 
177, 207. 

Yellow Sea, 178. 

Yen (Peking), 264. 

Yen-hu-Kung, 196. 

Yi Taijo, 388. 

Yokohama, 396. 

Yon-sen Mountains, 396. 

Yuan Shih-K'ai, 4, 143, 212, 
234-255, 264, 275, 281, 290, 
304, 325. 

Yu-chou (Peking), 264. 

Yung-lo, 195, 264, 314, 331, 
334. 



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